Jean Tabary, French comic strip artist, died when he was 81.

Jean Tabary  was a French comics artist.

(March 5, 1930 –August 18, 2011)

Tabary was born in Stockholm and made his comics debut with Richard et Charlie published in the comics magazine Vaillant on November 5, 1956.^[1][2] For Vaillant (in 1965 renamed Pif) Tabary also drew Grabadu et Gabaliouchtou, and eventually the hit series Totoche in 1959, which produced another series with two if its characters, Corinne et Jeannot, and its own short-lived periodical Totoche Poche. Tabary continued to draw this series until 1976.
In 1962 Tabary began a long-lasting collaboration with René Goscinny, creating the series Les aventures du Calife Haroun el Poussah, first published in Record on January 15, 1962.^[3] Shifting its focus and title name to the evil protagonist/anti-hero of the series, Iznogoud became a considerable success, and was eventually adapted into a cartoon TV series.^[1] In 1968 the series changed serial publication magazine to Goscinny’s Pilote. Valentin le vagabond, another series Tabary initially created with Goscinny, also appeared in Pilote since 1962.
After Goscinny’s death in 1977, Tabary continued to create Iznogoud
albums. Tabary’s own publishing label, at first named Editions de la
Séguinière, then Éditions Tabary, continues to publish Tabary work,
ultimately albums in the Corinne et Jeannot series, and the most recent Iznogoud volume, La faute de l’ancêtre in 2004.

Bibliography

Series	Years	Magazine	Albums	Editor	Remarks
Richard et Charlie	1955 – 1962	Vaillant	1	Glénat
Totoche	1959 – 1976	Vaillant and Pif	14	Vaillant and Dargaud
Iznogoud	1962–2004	Record and Pilote	27	Dargaud	Scenarios by René Goscinny until 1977
Valentin le vagabond	1962–1977	Pilote	7	Dargaud	Created with Goscinny
Corinne et Jeannot	1966–2005	Pif	7	Vaillant, Dargaud, Tabary

 

 

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Jerome J. Shestack, American human rights activist and attorney, President of American Bar Association (1997–1998) died he was , 88.

Jerome Joseph “Jerry” Shestack was a Philadelphia lawyer and human rights advocate active in Democratic Party politics who served as president of the American Bar Association (ABA) from 1997 to 1998. He chaired the International League for Human Rights for twenty years, and was appointed the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1979 to 1980 by President Jimmy Carter. Shestack was regularly listed on the National Law Journal‘s list of the 100 most influential U.S. lawyers.

(February 11, 1923 – August 18, 2011)

Early life, education, and military service

Shestack was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey^[1] to Jewish parents Isidore Shestack and Olga Shankman Shestack.^[2] He grew up poor; his father was a paperhanger.^[3] His grandfather, an Orthodox Rabbi, was an early influence, telling him “Justice, justice, shalt thou pursue.”^[3] When he was ten, the family moved to the Wynnefield neighborhood of Philadelphia.^[3] He graduated from Overbrook High School in Philadelphia in 1940, where he enjoyed the school’s racial and ethnic diversity and began a long passion for poetry.^[3]
He received a bachelor’s degree in history and economics in 1943 from the University of Pennsylvania,^[4] having gone through in 2½ years.^[3]
Shestack then served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946.^[1] During World War II he was a gunnery officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga.^[2] He was wounded during the January 21, 1945, Japanese kamikaze attack upon the ship.^[5] His kosher dietary habits
kept him from worse injury, as he avoided the pork meal that day and
thus was not on the mess deck which suffered the worst of the damage.^[2][6]
After the war, he attained his law degree (LLB) in 1949 from Harvard Law School,^[1] where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Law Record. While a student at Harvard, he launched a movement to have women admitted to the law school, which soon succeeded.^[1][6]

Legal career and human rights activities

Shestack clerked in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and taught as an instructor for a year at Northwestern Law School^[1] and for another year at Louisiana State University, where he advocated for blacks to be admitted to the university’s law school.^[7] (One who was as a result of these efforts, Ernest Morial, went on to become the first black Mayor of New Orleans.^[6])
He became first deputy city solicitor in Philadelphia in 1951 where
he helped end segregation in swimming pools, bowling alleys, and other
public places.^[8] In 1951 he married Marciarose Schleifer, who in 1971 on KYW-TV became the first woman to anchor a prime-time TV newscast in a major city.^[2][3] Shestack taught at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, which awarded him an Honorary Fellowship and at Rutgers. He was a Honorary Fellow of Columbia Law School and had three honorary doctor of laws degrees.^[9] From 1955 to 1991, and again from 2009 he practiced with the law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP,
from 1991, when he had to leave Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis
after having reached the mandatory retirement age till 2009, when the
law firm collapsed, he practiced with Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen, chairing the litigation practice.^[10] During much of his law practice career, he concentrated on involved commercial law and advocacy regarding appellate law.^[6]
An active Democrat, Shestack worked for Adlai Stevenson and wrote speeches for Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Sargent Shriver, and Senator Ed Muskie.^[7]
He was a co-founder and chair of the Lawyers Committee for
International Human Rights, chair of the International Bar Association’s
Standing Committee on Human Rights, a counselor of the American Society of International Law, a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists, and a founding member and the first executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law,^[1] convened by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. He served on the board of directors of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.^[1] He wrote widely on human rights issues and other subjects.^[10]
Throughout his attention to human rights, he focused upon cases that
involved racial minorities, women, political prisoners, and indigents
without legal representation.^[6]
His appointment as ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights occurred on December 10, 1979, when he replaced the resigning Edward Mezvinsky.^[1] As ambassador he sought to bring focus upon the poor treatment given political dissidents such as Andrei Sakharov in the Soviet Union as well as upon the thousands who were “disappeared” during the Argentine Dirty War.^[6] Shestack’s own time in the position came to an end with the election of Republican Ronald Reagan to the presidency.
Shestack was long active in the American Bar Association.
He was a founder of the ABA’s Section of Individual Rights and
Responsibilities, which became the vehicle for the ABA’s support of
women’s rights, pro bono work, and other legal services for the impoverished, and served as chairman of that section from 1969 to 1970.^[1][3]
In 1973 he became the first chairman of the Commission on Mentally
Disabled of the American Bar Association, where he established projects
to help provide legal services and promote fights for the mentally
disabled.^[1] He was chairman of ABA’s Center for Human Rights.
During the controversial and eventually unsuccessful Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination
in 1987, Shestack was part of the association’s committee on judicial
appointments and was one of the minority report members who gave Bork a
“not qualified” assessment.^[6] Shestack also gained some notoriety in 1992, during a controversy wherein the ABA refused to let Vice President and lawyer Dan Quayle
speak at its national convention, when he said that Quayle would have
been invited had he been a person of “personal stature or legal
ability”. Shestack later acknowledged the remark had been disrespectful
of Quayle’s office.^[3]
He longed to serve as president of the ABA, and finally did so from 1997 to 1998.^[3] At one time he had been considered too radical to hold the post, but the ABA’s political drift aligned more with him.^[3]
As president of the ABA, Shestack focused on increasing professionalism
within the bar, established a high level commission to review and
revise the bar’s model code of ethics, and initiated an ethical rule
regarding pay-to-play.
He convened the first ABA conferences on racism and mental health as
well as the first ABA Conference on Human Rights at the U.N.^[1]
Shestack served as chair of the American Poetry Center and as director of the American Poetry Review, which awards a prize in his honor. He was President of the Jewish Publication Society of America, served on the board of directors of Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University,^[11] the American Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Committee, and served as president of Har Zion Temple, then Philadelphia’s largest Conservative Jewish congregation.^[2] He was a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council and Chairman of that institution’s Committee on Conscience.^[12]
In Philadelphia, he was often known as “Mr. Marciarose”, due to the fame of his wife.^[3] The couple had two children: Jennifer Shestack Doss,^[13] a fragrance buyer for Bergdorf Goodman, and motion picture producer Jonathan Shestack,^[2] as well as five grandchildren.^[6] The couple became active in Cure Autism Now after one of their grandchildren was discovered to be afflicted.^[10] His most prized personal possession was a book inscribed to him by Martin Luther King, Jr..^[3]
In 2006 he received the American Bar Association Medal,^[10]
that organization’s highest honor. The announcement said, “Where
individuals have suffered, Jerry has helped them. His tireless efforts
have served not just American jurisprudence, but truly have served the
world.”^[10] In 2008 he was awarded the Gruber Prize for Justice,^[8] and in 2009 the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights’ Lloyd N. Cutler Lifetime Achievement Award.^[14] Summing up his own career, Shestack once said, “There is no end of just causes to pursue.”^[3]
Shestack died August 18, 2011, of kidney failure at his home in Center City.^[15] In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
called Shestack “a committed public servant and a dogged defender of
human rights,” adding, “as president of the American Bar Association,
and in the years following, he set the standard for how civil society
leaders can promote human rights.”^[15]

 

 

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Scotty Robertson, American basketball coach (New Orleans Jazz, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons), died from cancer at 81.

Robert Scott Robertson, III , known as Scotty Robertson, was an American basketball coach of four NBA teams. He was the first coach for the New Orleans Jazz (now the Utah Jazz), and he later coached the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons. He also has a stint as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and the Miami Heat.^[1]

(February 1, 1930 – August 18, 2011)

Robertson was born in  Fort Smith in western Arkansas. As a sixth grader, he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he played basketball and baseball for C.E. Byrd High School, from which he graduated in 1947. He attended the University of Texas at Austin but graduated in 1951 from Louisiana Tech University. He obtained a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.^[1] After his graduation from Louisiana Tech, he played baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization before returning to basketball as a coach.^[2]
Robertson coached at Byrd High School for eight years, having
accomplished a 163-91 record. He then coached at Louisiana Tech from
1964 to 1974. There he amassed a 165-86 record and during the early
1970s led the Bulldogs
to a No. 1 ranking in the national college division. The Bulldogs
procured three championships in the former Gulf States Conference under
Robertson’s tutelage and also entered two National Collegiate Athletic Association tournaments.^[1]
Robertson was nominated to eight athletic halls of fame and was a
Louisiana Tech “Alumnus of the Year” for the university school of
education. He was a member of the Louisiana Tech Letterman Club and the
Byrd High School Super Stars. Robertson was also a classic car
collector.^[1]
At the time of his death of lung cancer at the age of eighty-one, Robertson was residing in Ruston, the location of Louisiana Tech, with his wife the former Betty Lou Lancaster, a member of a prominent family originally from Tensas Parish in eastern Louisiana.^[3] He was survived by his daughters, Libby Robertson Power (husband Robert) of Frisco, Texas, Claudia Robertson Fowler (husband Royal) of Franklin, Tennessee, and Vicki Robertson Page of Ruston. He had ten grandchildren.^[1]
Services were held on August 21, 2011, at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Ruston. Interment followed at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Ruston.^[1]
His obituary describes him, accordingly: “Despite compiling
significant accolades in his professional career, no list does justice
in describing a man that touched so many, angered so few and was
respected and revered by all. Knowing the man was the only true
description of his greatness. For those who knew him, he will never be
forgotten. His love will carry on forever.”^[1]

 

 

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Herb Pfuhl, American politician, longest-serving Mayor of Johnstown, Pennsylvania (1971–1977, 1982–1993), died when he was 83.

Herbert “Herb” Pfuhl Jr. was an American politician and teacher. Pfuhl was the longest serving Mayor of Johnstown, Pennsylvania
in the municaplity’s history, serving six terms as head of the city
from 1971 to 1977 and again from 1982 to his retirement in 1993  died when he was 83.Pfuhl faced major challenges during his two decade long career as the elected chief of Johnstown, including population decline, the 1977 Johnstown flood and the collapse of the steel industry, which included one of the city’s biggest employers, Bethlehem Steel. However, Pfuhl has been credited with having revitalized downtown Johnstown’s business district and successfully lobbying for millions in aid from the U.S. federal government for economic development.

(April 25, 1928 – August 18, 2011)

Early life

Pfuhl was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1928 to German immigrant parents who had moved to the United States during the 1920s.^[5] Pfuhl’s father, Herbert L. Pfuhl, moved to Johnstown from Berlin, Germany.^[5] His mother, Anna Schweitzer, moved to Johnstown from a rural region of Germany when she was 16 years old.^[5] She worked as a maid for a Johnstown family, the Suppes.^[5] Anna Schweitzer was also a relative of Albert Schweitzer, a prominent physician and theologian.^[5] Both became students at Johnstown High School, where they learned English. The couple met while both were attending the Zion Lutheran Church and soon married.^[5]
Pfuhl remained a resident of Johnstown for his entire life, eventually settling in the Roxbury neighborhood of the city.^[5] He grew up in a home with coal stoves heating the room.^[5] Pfuhl enlisted in United States Navy during World War II.^[6][4] He graduated from Johnstown High School in 1946.^[6][4] He then earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.^[6] Pfuhl was a Presbyterian.^[7] He worked in public education before entering politics. He was a teacher and coach in the Ferndale Area School District in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.^[4] Pfuhl also served in the Pennsylvania National Guard.^[4]

Mayor of Johnstown

Pfuhl would serve six terms as Mayor of Johnstown, the longest tenure of any chief executive in city history.^[4] He helped guide Johnstown’s transition from a commission government to a local government consisting of a strong mayor and city council.^[4] He helped move Johnstown to its present system of governing based on a city manager.^[4]
Pfuhl ran for Mayor of Johnstown during six mayoral elections, winning five of the six campaigns.^[1] He was elected as a Republican, despite Johnstown’s reputation as a stronghold of the Democratic Party.^[1] Pfuhl was elected to his first term as mayor in the 1971 election.^[3]
Pfuhl was mayor of Johnstown during the July 1977 flood, which devastated the city and the local economy.^[8] The flood heavily damaged the facities of Bethlehem Steel, which was Johnstown’s major employer at the time, with 12,000 employees in during pre-flood 1977.^[8] Bethlehem Steel lost more than $50 million dollars in the flood, resulting in 4,000 layoffs.^[8]
Pfuhl accused Bethlehem Steel of using the flood as an excuse to pull some of its investments from the area.^[8] The business district was heavily flooded, closing both of the city’s department stores, Penn Traffic and Grosser Bros.^[8] Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp
gave Pfuhl a hand-written letter after the flood, authorizing Pfuhl to
wave the usual regulations and solicitation process for the clean-up. ^[9]
Pfuhl lost his re-election bid in 1977 to Democrat Charles “Kutch”
Tomljanovic, largely due to the aftermath of the 1977 Johnstown flood,
which proved one of the biggest challenges of his political career.^[3][10]
Pfuhl remained out of office for just one term before being
re-elected as mayor in the 1981 election and re-took the mayor’s office
in 1982.^[3] In October 1986, Pfuhl appointed Linda Weaver as Johnstown’s police chief.^[11] The appointment made Weaver the first female police chief in Pennsylvania.^[11] She retired on March 5, 1993.^[11]
Pfuhl announced his retirement in February 1993, when he announced
that he would not seek re-election in the November 1993 mayoral
election.^[4]
In his announcement, Pfuhl told the audience, “I love my family, I love
my city, I love this job. And I really feel I’ve been pretty good at
it.”^[4]
Pfuhl died at Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on August 19, 2011, aged 83.^[1][6] He was survived by his wife of 64 years, the former Phyllis I. Meyer, and five children.^[4] He was buried at Grandview Cemetery at the mausoleum in Southmont, Pennsylvania.^[7]

 

 

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Paul Lockyer, Australian journalist, died from a helicopter crash age 61.

Paul James Lockyer  was an Australian television journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Nine Network
who was known for his reporting on rural and regional Australia.
Lockyer and two colleagues died in a helicopter accident while on
assignment filming a story about Lake Eyre, South Australia.^[3]

(27 April 1950 – 18 August 2011)

Early years and background

Lockyer was the younger of two sons of Nona and Norman Lockyer. He was born and grew up on a farm near Corrigin, about 250 kilometres (160 mi) east of Perth, Western Australia. He later boarded at Aquinas College in Perth where he played hockey.^[4][5][6]

Career

In 1969 at age 19, Lockyer became a cadet journalist with the Perth office of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), before moving to Sydney and then Canberra in the mid-1970s.^[7][8] In 1979 Lockyer became an ABC correspondent in Port Moresby and then Jakarta before a three year posting in Bangkok. It was during this period that he reported on events following the Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge killing fields.^[4] He was posted to Washington, D.C.
where as ABC correspondent during the Reagan administration he covered
Central and North America. Lockyer later returned to Asia, taking up a
posting in ABC’s Singapore office and reporting on the trial and subsequent execution of Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers on drug trafficking charges. Lockyer was nominated for a Gold Walkley award for his coverage of the trial and execution.^{[citation needed]}
In 1988 he joined the Nine Network in Sydney.^[4][9] Lockyer’s reporting on a drought in eastern Australia in 1994 for A Current Affair was credited for inspiring the Farmhand Appeal.^[10] He worked across a range of programs for the network including Sunday, Midday, and the Wide World of Sports.
After returning to the ABC in 1999,^[9] Lockyer won a Logie Award for Most Outstanding News Reporter in 2001 for his daily coverage of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.^[11] He later led ABC TV News coverage of the 2004 Athens Olympics and reported on the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the 7.30 Report.^[12] In 2005, Lockyer was the presenter for the ABC television news in Western Australia.^[5]
However, it was his coverage of rural stories that he was most passionate about.^{[citation needed]} Lockyer’s was the first news team to report from Grantham in the Lockyer Valley in the aftermath of the 2010–2011 Queensland floods; for the first 24 hours he was the only reporter on the ground in Grantham.^[13] Lockyer also provided in depth coverage of the impact of Cyclone Yasi.^[4]
Lockyer was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003 for his coverage of
rural issues, particularly the extensive drought and he was twice
awarded the NSW Farmers’ Association Mackellar Media prize for coverage
of rural issues.^[12] Lockyer reported the 2006 rescue of two miners from Tasmania’s Beaconsfield gold mine.^[12]
Lockyer’s final story was an interview with Bob Lasseter, who is searching for Lasseter’s Reef. Bob Lasseter is the son of Harold Lasseter, the man who claimed to have originally found the gold deposit. The story was broadcast on 7.30, on 29 August 2011.^[14]

Death

On 18 August 2011, Lockyer and two fellow ABC employees, pilot Gary
Ticehurst and cameraman John Bean, died in a helicopter crash on the
eastern shore of Lake Eyre in South Australia. The trio were on assignment filming a story about the lake.^[15][16] The aircraft was an Aérospatiale Industries AS355F2 helicopter owned by the ABC. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is conducting an investigation into the fatal accident.^[17] A preliminary report released in mid September 2011 did not include the cause of the crash.^[18][19][20] The accident was the first fatal accident involving a twin-engine helicopter in Australia since 1986.^[21]
Addressing Parliament, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard,
spoke of Lockyer’s coverage of important events, his famous inland
reports and his reporting of the 2010–2011 Queensland floods. She spoke
of the dangers journalists were exposed to, saying “[They] took these
risks and told these stories. They were true professionals and true
gentlemen of the Australian media.”^[22]

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Johnson, Indian film music composer, died from cardiac arrest he was 58.

Johnson was an Indian film score composer and music director who has given music to some of the most important motion pictures of Malayalam cinema, including those for Koodevide, Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, Vadakkunokkiyantram, Perumthachan, Amaram, Njan Gandharvan, Ponthan Mada, and Bhoothakkannadi.
He was noted for his lyrical and expressive melodies together with
simple but rich tonal compositions of thematic music. Johnson is a
recipient of National Film Awards twice and Kerala State Film Awards five times.
He started his career as an assistant to G. Devarajan in 1970s,^[1] and debuted as an independent composer in late seventies with Aaravam.^[2] He was a recurrent collaborator for directors Padmarajan, Bharathan, Sathyan Anthikkad, T. V. Chandran, Kamal, Lohithadas, Balachandra Menon and Mohan.^[2] He has composed music for more than 300 Malayalam films, the most by any composer except for Devarajan.^[2] He died in Chennai on August 18, 2011 due to a heart attack.^[3]

(26 March 1953 – 18 August 2011)

Early life

Johnson was born in a musically affluent Christian family in Nellikkunnu, Thrissur,
Kerala, on 26 March 1953. His father was a bank employee. Johnson was a
singer in the choir of Nellikkunnu St. Sebastian’s Church. He obtained
training in guitar and harmonium
from his colleagues during this early periods itself. He used to sing
in youth festivals and musical shows and joined the orchestra team of
some local troupes and played harmonium in many concerts. He also used
to sing in the female voice in ganamelas(a stage show where film songs
are sung by local or professional artists).^[4]
In 1968, Johnson and his friends formed a club named Voice of
Thrissur. Johnson was the main instrumentalist in the club where he
played wide varieties of instruments – guitar, harmonium, flute, drums and violin.^[4]
Within a few years, the club became one of the most sought after
musical troups in Kerala, and had more than fifty members. This club
used to give accompaniment music to playback singers Jayachandran and Madhuri in their musical shows. It was Jayachandran who introduced Johnson to G. Devarajan, one of the most prolific composers of South Indian cinema then. Devarajan literally adopted Johnson and brought him to Chennai in 1974. Johnson bought an accordion, during this period, from R. K. Shekhar (A. R. Rahman‘s father), and began assisting Devarajan in filmscoring and composing. ^[4]

Film scoring and soundtracks

Johnson began his independent career by composing the film scores of Bharathan‘s Aaravam (1978), Thakara (1980) and Chamaram (1980). He composed his first soundtracks for the film Inaye Thedi, debut film of director turned still photographer Antony Eastman and actress Silk Smitha. It was Devarajan himself, who suggested Johnson to the director. Then came Bharathan‘s Parvathi and Balachandra Menon‘s Premageethangal. Premageethangal
was a notable success with four of its songs – “Swapnam Verumoru
Swapnam”, “Nee Nirayoo Jeevanil”, “Muthum Mudipponnum” and
“Kalakalamozhi” attaining cult status.
He came to prominence through his collaboration with Malayalam author and director Padmarajan. Koodevide
was their first venture, which had one of the most famous songs of
Johnson “Aadivaa Kaatte”, a pathbreaking song in Malayalam music
history. It was one of the first songs in Malayalam to have a grant
orchestral score and the song was born out of Padmarajan’s need for a
western song for his innovative film. Song composition took place in
Woodland’s Hotel, Chennai. Another notable feature of this song was the lyrics by O. N. V. Kurup, who for the first time wrote lyrics for a pre-composed song.^[4] Johnson worked for 17 films with Padmarajan, including his last film Njan Gandharvan.
This productive collaboration saw the detailed screenplay and
cinematography of Padmarajan become a fertile ground for expressive
musical narration and thematic scores for Johnson. This is seen in some
of the greatest motion pictures of Malayalam cinema, like Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal (1986), Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam (1987), Nombarathipoovu (1987) and Perumthachan (1990). Another notable collaboration of Johnson was with director Sathyan Anthikkad,
with whom he associated in almost 25 films. He was able to provide some
of his most popular songs with Anthikkad and this combo is widely
accepted to be one of the greatest director-composer collaborations in
Malayalam cinema. Acclaimed Malayalam director Bharathan also collabrated with him in multiple films including Parvathy, Palangal, Ormakkayi, Kattathe Kilikkoodu, Ente Upasana, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, Ozhivukalam, Malootty, Chamayam and Churam. His major other collaborations with directors include Mohan (Oru Katha Oru Nunakkatha, Sakshyam, Pakshe and Angane Oru Avadhikkalathu), Sibi Malayil (Kireedam, Chenkol, Dasaratham and Nee Varuvolam), Sreenivasan (Vadakkunokkiyantram and Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala), Lohithadas (Bhoothakkannadi and Arayannangalude Veedu), Kamal (Peruvannapurathe Visheshangal, Shubhayathra, Ee Puzhayum Kadannu and Paavam Paavam Rajakumaran), and Balachandra Menon (Shesham Kazhchayil, Premageethangal, Kilukilukkam and Kelkatha Shabdam).
He is also noted for his collaboration with the Malayalam lyricist Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri. Their association began in 1989 with Sathyan Anthikkad‘s social satire Varavelpu.
Most of Jonhnson’s notable works came in late eighties and early
nineties. In 1991, he scored a record number of 31 films, including 29
with Kaithapram.^[4] Johnson won National awards for two consecutive years. He won his first National Award in 1994 for the motion picture Ponthan Mada (1993). The next year he got his second award for Sukrutham. Both the awards were for the background score in films.
After an extremely successful career of more than a decade, Johnson
took a sabattical from film scoring by the end of nineties. The quality
and quantity of his works began perishing during this time. By the
beginning of 2000s, he didn’t sign any new projects that even his most
noted collaborator Sathyan Anthikkad had to find a new composer. In
2004, he sang the song “Theekuruvi” from Kangalal Kaidhu Sei, which was composed by A. R. Rahman. Perhaps it is the only song recorded by him for any composer. He returned strongly to the field with Photographer in 2006, which fetched him numerous awards.^[5]

Non-cinematic outputs

Johnson has released four non-film albums. His first album Sneha Deepika
was released in 1989 on Tharangini audios. It had nine Christian
devotional songs – “Aathma Swaroopa”, “Unni Yesu Pirannu”, “Manninum
Poovinum”, “Thumbapoo Polulla”, “Bhoomikku Pulakam”, “Manassakumengil”,
“Kulir Choodum”, “Arthungal Innoru” and “Vidarnna Punchiri”. The
featured artists were K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chithra and Sujatha.^[6] His second album Onathappan, a collaboration with M. G. Radhakrishnan and Berny-Ignatius, consisted of nine festival songs. The track “Mundon Paadam” was composed by Johnson, sung by M. G. Sreekumar and had lyrics penned by Bichu Thirumala.^[7] His third album Nannipoorvam Johnson,
consisted of twelve tracks – “Chandanakkavilinnu”, “Panineeru Peyyum”,
“Vasundhare”, “Virunnu Vanna”, “Prapanjam Sundaram”, “Enthe Nee
Varathe”, “Nilasandhyayil”, “Veruthe Onnu”, “Ponnazhikkuttu”,
“Pranayappirave”, “Kalindhi”, and an introductory speech by Sreenivasan. In 2009, he released his second Christian devotional album entitled Parishudhan. It had eleven tracks – “Vazhiyum Sathyavum Nee Thanne (Vijay Yesudas), “Mullukal Kuthi” (Chithra), “Ariyathe Polum” (G. Venugopal), “Neethimanayavane” (Sujatha), “Traditional song” (Louis), “Mazhayum Veyilum” (Rimi Tomy), “Oru Viral Sparshathal (Sudheep), “Loka Palaka” (Chithra), Neethanthamam (Vijay Yesudas), and “Kannukalil Theliyum” (Manjari).

Music style and impact

His skilful integration of textual rhythm of the lyrics together with
rich tonal arrangement, redefined songwriting in Malayalam cinema,
since the late 1980s. In his film scores, Johnson combines native South
Indian melodic patterns with the harmonic structure of European
classical music and this has attained an expressive form of narration
through film score.^[8]
He composed for about 300 films. Though he has obtained no formal
training in classical music, he was able to incorporate the beauty of Carnatic ragas in his songs. Most of his songs were composed on Kalyani raga.
Johnson’s favourite male singer was K. J. Yesudas, who has recorded many songs for him, while S. Janaki and K. S. Chithra were his favourite female singers. Chithra had some of her most noted songs with Johnson.^[9]
Johnson is fondly called Johnson Master (Johnson Mashu) by Malayalee
audiences. He is affectionately described as the “John Williams of
Malayalam cinema”, after the Hollywood composer John Williams.^[8]

Awards

Johnson won the National Film Award for Best Background Score for the films Ponthan Mada (1994) and Sukrutham (1995).^[10]
Johnson is the only composer to receive this rarely given award twice.
He was the first Malayalee music composer to receive an award in music
category and is also the only Malayalee music director who received two
national awards in music category. Actually his first national award for
Ponthan Mada, not only for background score but also for Best Music Composer. This film has one song Adimarunge ayyayya  lyrics by O. N. V. Kurup and sung by K. S. Chithra and chorus composed by Johnson.
This is a folk song. National film award committee noted that he
brilliantly conceive western folk tunes into this song. So award given
for best music direction and background score of this film. He has
received three Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director, for the films Ormakkayi (1982), Vadakkunokkiyantram and Mazhavil Kavadi (1989), and Angane Oru Avadhikkalathu (1999). He was awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music for the films Sadayam (1992) and Sallapam
(1996). He has thus received five Kerala State Film Awards in music
category, an achievement he shares with Devarajan. He has received the
Kerala Film Critics Awards four times, the most recent in 2008 for Gulmohar. In 2007, he won the Mathruboomi Award for Best Music Director for Photographer (2006).^[11]
He won the Mullasserry Raju Music Award for the song “Enthe Kannanu
Karuppu Niram”, also from the same film. In addition, he has received
numerous other awards and nominations including Devarajan Master
Memorial Award and Raveendran Master Memorial Award.^[12]

Death

Johnson, popularly known as ‘Johnson Master’ died in Chennai
on 18 August 2011 at the age of 58, due to a heart attack. The
Government of Kerala gave all official honours for his funeral which was
held in his hometown, Thrissur. He is survived by his wife – Rani
Johnson, daughter – Shan Johnson and son – Renn Johnson. On 25 February
2012, Renn Johnson, an engineer by profession, worked at Connectivity
Data Systems LLC died in a motor bike accident at Chennai.^[13]

Partial discography

Original scores and soundtracks

Year	Album	Year	Album
1980	Cheriyachante Kroorakrithyangal	1981	Premageethangal Oridathoru Phayalwan Inaye Thedi Raktham Chaatta Parvathi
1982	Football Sooryan Ithiri Neram Othiri Karyam Kelkatha Shabdam Palangal Kilukilukkam Swarna Gopuram Ithu Njangalude Kadha Ormakkayi Thuranna Jail	1983	Koodevide Shesham Kaazhchayil Kolakomban Onnu Chirikkoo Kattathe Kilikkoodu Naseema Thamburu Thavalam Ivide Thudangunnu
1984	Parannu Parannu Parannu Sandarbham Ente Upasana Swanthamevide Bandhamevide	1985	Akkacheede Kunjivava Nerariyum Nerathu Oru Kudakkeezhil Makan Ente Makan Kadha Ithu Vare Mounanombaram Upaharam Sannaham Jwalanam Oduvil Kittiya Vartha Aa Neram Alpa Dooram Ozhivukalam
1986	Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal Oru Katha Oru Nunnakkatha Neram Pularumpol Akalangalil Kariyila Kattu Pole Ice Cream Malamukalile Daivam Ente Entethumathram Thidambu	1987	Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam Sruthi Athinumappuram Ithente Needhi Arinjo Ariyatheyo Onnam Manam Poomanam Archana Pookkal Kathirippinte Thudakkam
1988	Aparan Unnikrishnante Adyathe Christmas Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu Isabella	1989	Peruvannapurathe Visheshangal Varavelpu Varnatheru Radham Nerunnu Nanmakal Lal Americayil Kireedam Artham Dasaratham Vadakkunokkiyantram Mazhavilkavadi Pradeshika Varthakal Pandu Pandoru Desathu
1990	Nanma Niranjavan Sreenivasan Malootty Paavakkoothu Varthamanakaalam Muppathi Randam Naal Shubhayathra Sunday 7 PM Sandram Dr. Pasupathy Kalikkalam Gajakesariyogam Rajavazhcha Kouthuka Vaarthakal Ee Kanni Koodi Cheriya Lokavum Valiya Manushyarum Niyamam Endu Cheyyum Orukkam Thalayanamanthram Pavam Pavam Rajakumaran Kaattukuthira Sasneham Mridula Mukham Ananthanum Appukkuttanum Anayundu Khalasi	1991	Kakka Thollayiram Sundari Kakka Nettipattam Beli Chanchaattam Perunthachan Kankettu Ezhunnaallathu Mimics Parade Athiradhan Arangu Kanal Kaattu Innathe Program Karpoora Deepam Aanaval Mothiram Sandhesam Apoorvam Chilar Ennum Nanmakal Njaan Gandharvan Nagarathil Samsaaravishayam Venal Kinavukal Cheppukilukkana Changaathi Nayam Vyakthamakkunnu
1992	My Dear Muthachan Thalasthanam Kunukkkitta Kozhi Mahanagaram Kasargode Khadarbhai Snehasaagaram Oottyppattanam Aadharam Maanthrika Cheppu Ezharapponnana Savidham Kudumba Sametham Neelakkurukkan Sadayam Poochaikkaru Manikettum Aayaram Gayaram Ambathu Lakshavum Maruthi Carum	1993	Addheham Enna Iddheham Golanthara Vartha Samooham Ghoshayaathra Ente Sreekuttiku Maanavam Samaagamam Chenkol Agneyam O’ Faby Meleparambil Aanveedu Chamayam Naaraayam Thalamura Paamaram
1994	[[CID Unnikrishnan B.A. B.Ed.]] Rajadhaani Pakshe Ponthan Mada The City Kudumba Visesham Sandanagopaalam Manathe Vellitheru Bhagyavan Chakoram Pingami Malappuram Haji Mahanaaya Joji Kunjikkili Leader	1995	Ezharakuttam Saadaram Ormakal Undaayirikkanam Kaattile Thadi Thevarude Aana Mangalam Veettil Manaseswari Gupta Sunny Scooter Sakshyam Thovala Pookkal
1996	Ee Puzhayum Kadannu Kanchanam Thooval Kottaram Udhyanapalakan Sallapam Aayiram Naavulla Ananthan Kalyana Sougandhikam	1997	Irattakuttikalude Achan Killikurisiyile Kudumbhamela Adivaaram Bhoothakannadi Manthra Mothiram Kudamaattam Sankeerthanam Pole Guru Sishyan Oral Mathram Itha Oru Snehagadha Churam Maanasam Nee Varuvolam Snehasindhooram Rishyasringan Athyunnathangalil Koodaram Panithavar Vachalam Sammanam
1998	Aayushmaanbhava Manjukaalavum Kazhinju Vismayam Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala Ormacheppu Kusrithikuruppu Thirakalkkappuram Mangamma	1999	Angane Oru Avadikkalathu Veendum Chila Veettukaryangal
2000	Swayamvara Pandhal Susanna Ee Mazha Thenmazha Oru Cheru Punchiri	2001	Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka Uthaman The Gift of God Police Academy
2002	Yathrakarude Sradhakku Danny Stop Violence Suvarna Mohangal	2003	Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam
2006	Kisan Photographer	2007	AKG
2008	Gulmohar	2009	Vellathooval
2010	Nirakazhcha	2011	Nadakame Ulakam Anandhan Pillai Adhava Arjunan Pillai Navagatharkku Swagatham Bharyamar Adharikkapedunnu Khilafath

Original scores

The following lists out the films in which Johnson composed the background score but not songs.

Aakaashakottayile Sulthaan Aalorungi Arangorungi Aaraante Mulla Kochumulla Aaravam Aaryan Arabikkadal Abhimanyu Adimachangala Agnisharam Ambada Njaane Amaram Amrutham Arayannangalude Veedu Avidatheppole Ivideyum Bharatham Chamaram Chithram Chakravalam Chuvannappol Chithrathoonukal Dhanam Dheem Tharikidathom Ee Kaikalil Ekantham English Medium Ente Hridayathinte Udama Ente Kaanakkuyil Ithum Oru Jeevitham Iniyum Kurukshethram Kaanaakkinaavu Kaarunyam Kaaryam Nissaaram

Kadathanadan Ambadi Kadaksham Kamaladalam Kazhukan Keli Kaikudanna Nilavu Kinnarippuzhayoram Kodumudikal Koodum Thedi Krishnapakshakkilikal Kudumbapuraanam Kunjaattakkilikal Maayamayooram Madhya Venal Manasiloru Manimuthu Manichithrathazhu Mankamma Mizhineerppoovukal Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu Mizhi Randilum Mounanombaram No. 1 Snehatheeram Banglore North Nokketha Dhoorathu Kannum Nattu Nombarathi Poovu Nyayavidhi Orma Mathram Ottayal Pattaalam Oru Cheru punchiri Puzha Paadamudra Parinayam

Pooram Post Box Number 27 Pradakshinam Raagam Thaanam Pallavi Shreeraagam Snehapoorvam Meera Sukrutham Susanna Soorya Gaayathri Thalavattam Thazhvaram Thakara Thaniyavarthanam Theekkaattu Thoovanathumbikal Uncle Bun Uthara Utharam Vadhu Doctoraanu Vaadakaveettile Athidhi Vandanam Vasudha Vellanakalude Nadu Vedikkett Venkalam Vishnulokam

Non-film albums

• Rajavu ezhunallunnu – Christian devotional album .Audio by manorama music (2011)
• Parishudhan (2009)
• Nannipoorvam Johnson
• Onathappan
• Sneha Deepika (1989)

Notable songs

In an interview with Malayala Manorama, Johnson listed the following 13 songs as his favourite songs.^[4]

• “Aadivaa Katte” (Koodevide)
• “Nee Nirayoo Jeevanil” (Premageethangal)
• “Swapnam Verumoru Swapnam” (Premageethangal)
• “Poo Venam” (Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam)
• “Melle Melle Mukhapadam” (Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam)
• “Gopike Nin Viral” (Kattathe Kilikkoodu)
• “Devankanangal” (Njan Gandharvan)
• “Swarna mukile” (Ithu Njangaludey Kadha)
• “Thankathoni” (Mazhavilkavadi)
• “Sundari Poovinu Naanam” (Ente Upasana)
• “Shyamambharam” (Artham)
• “Enthe Kannanu Karuppu Niram” (Photographer)
• “Oru Naal” (Gulmohar)

 

 

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Simon De Jong, Canadian politician, MP for Regina East (1979–1988) and Regina—Qu’Appelle (1988–1997), died from leukemia age 69.

Simon Leendert De Jong was a Canadian parliamentarian.^[1][2]

(April 29, 1942 – August 18, 2011) 

He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1979 federal election as an New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) from Saskatchewan. He would spend five terms and 18 years in the House of Commons.

Simon De Jong was born in Surabaya, Indonesia,
spending the first three years of his life, with his mother Dirkje and
older brother Hielke in a concentration camp. Of 3,000 women and
children who were incarcerated by the Japanese during the occupation of
Java, only a third survived. Simon’s father, a Dutch mariner, was also a
prisoner-of-war. The family were reunited after the war and returned to
the Netherlands. They came to Canada in 1951, and Simon spent his
formative years in Regina.
Despite being an immigrant and non-English speaker and stutterer, De
Jong trained himself in public speaking, at which he became a provincial
champion. In 1964, he become head of the student union at the
University of Regina, where he wrote a constitution that empowered
students and sparked campus unrest.
After graduating, De Jong turned to painting, receiving international
notice as a visual artist. However, through a series of sessions with
LSD researcher, Dr. Duncan Blewett, De Jong became fascinated with the
possibilities for societal change represented by the burgeoning youth
counter-culture of the late 1960s. In 1969 he left Regina for Vancouver,
where he went to work for The Greater Vancouver Youth Communications
Center Society, better known as Cool Aid. At Cool Aid, De Jong, Ray
Chouinard and other street workers organized alternative health, work,
housing and cultural programs that influenced the future of the city.
One of De Jong’s colleagues in those days was Mike Harcourt, who would
later become the Premier of the Province of British Columbia.
De Jong returned to Regina in 1975. He ran as the NDP candidate for
federal parliament in 1979. His victory surprised everyone including De
jong himself. He would go on to serve five terms, retiring undefeated in
1997. As a parliamentarian, he exposed the spraying of the toxic
defoliant Agent Orange by the U.S. military in the Canadian Province of
New Brunswick. He was the first Member of Parliament to raise concerns
about global warming. He spoke for disarmament at the United Nations;
and he introduced a motion to send condolences to Yoko Ono when John
Lennon was killed, which the artist gratefully acknowledged when De Jong
died in 2011.
In 1989, De Jong was a dark-horse candidate to succeed Ed Broadbent as the leader Canada’s New Democratic Party. He finished a respectable fourth in the leadership convention.
However, a controversy overshadowed his candidacy. De Jong had agreed
to be suited with a microphone in order to assist with a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC) documentary on the convention, but forgot he was wearing it and
inadvertently allowed back-room negotiations with fellow candidate Dave Barrett to be recorded.^[3]
The CBC documentary used the tape as the dramatic centre-point of its
convention coverage, giving it a sinister spin, as a “secret deal” cut
amid “shady” back-room politics. De Jong always denied the CBC’s
interpretation, insisting no deal was reached. Barrett remained silent
about it. The documentarians re-enforced their characterization by
mistranslating a second conversation thus gathered, a discussion in
Dutch between De Jong and his mother, one of his advisors. The
surrounding controversy hurt De Jong but was short-lived. However the
scandal had lasting repercussions for De Jong within the party and
contributed to his decision to retire some years later.
De Jong remained an MP until 1997 when he decided not to run for re-election in that year’s federal election, stepping aside in favour of Lorne Nystrom whose seat had been abolished.
After retiring from parliament, De Jong spent time in the United
States, Asia and Brazil, where he became involved with the Daime church
and its powerful psychedelic sacrament, ayahuasca.
De Jong became increasingly philosophical, joining the mystical
insights of the Daime religion to concerns about climate change and the
necessity for humankind to raise its consciousness. “The more aware we
become, the better we become,” he said.
De Jong once said of his colleague and friend Duncan Blewett, “He saw
light and love and hope where others would see only darkness.” This
characterized De Jong himself. When he died of leukemia on August 18,
2011, he was mourned by people of all political stripes and beliefs,
including former BC Premier Harcourt and Bob Rae, leader of the Liberal
Party of Canada.

 

 

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Samir Chanda, Indian art film director, died from cardiac arrest at 51.

Samir Chanda was an Indian art director and production designer across Indian cinema, including Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam and Tamil, most known for his work in films like Yodha (1992), Dil Se.. (1998), Guru (2007), Omkara (2006), Rang De Basanti (2006), and Raavan (2010) Samir Chanda, Indian art film director, died from cardiac arrest at 51.
He also directed a Bengali film, Ek Nadir Galpo (Tale of A River) (2008) starring Mithun Chakraborty. It was Indian entries for the Asian, African and Latin American Competition segment of the 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), in Goa^[3] He was awarded the National Film Award for Best Art Direction four times, including Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005) directed by Shyam Benegal.

(1957 – August 18, 2011) 

Career

A trained painter from Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata, he moved to Mumbai and started his career as an assistant to noted art director Nitish Roy working in films like, Mandi (1983) by Shyam Benegal, Mrinal Sen. Subsequently started handling films independently as art director and production designer, with Subhash Ghai‘s Ram Lakhan (1989). Over the years he worked with directors like Shyam Benegal,Sangeeth Sivan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Gautam Ghosh, Mani Ratnam.^[1][4]
He died in Mumbai on August 18, 2011, at the age of 53. Reportedly,
he suffered a drug reaction to a painkiller he had taken for a toothache
earlier that day, and suffered a heart attack. He was rushed a hospital
in Malad, Mumbai, where he died within an hour.^[1][5]

Filmography

Year	Title	Note
1989	Ram Lakhan
1992	Yodha (Malayalam)
1993	Rudaali
1993	Gandharvam (Malayalam)
1995	Nirnayam (Malayalam)
1996	Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin
1998	Dil Se..
	Daya (Malayalam)	Kerala State Film Award for Best Art Director
2001	Aalavandhan (Tamil)
	Zubeidaa
	Aks
2005	Kisna: The Warrior Poet
2006	Krrish
	Omkara	Filmfare Award for Best Art Direction
	Kantatar (Bengali)
	Faltu (Bengali)
	Galli Galli Sim Sim (TV series)	Hindi adaptation of Sesame Street
2007	Guru	Filmfare Award for Best Art Direction
	Blood Brothers (short film)
2008	Ghajini
	Welcome to Sajjanpur
2009	Kaalbela	Director: Goutam Ghosh
	Kaminey
	Well Done Abba!
2010	Raavan
2011	7 Khoon Maaf

 

 

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Babak Masoumi, Iranian futsal player and coach, died from blood cancer he was , 39.

 
Babak Masoumi Daraki was an Iranian futsal player and coach who was former captain of the Iranian national team.

(13 July 1972 – 10 August 2011)

Career

Masoumi began his career playing football for Fath Tehran. He then changed codes and began to play futsal where played for Fath Tehran, PAS Tehran^[2] and Tam Iran Khodro.
Despite suffering from cancer, Masoumi was head coach of Persepolis futsal team in the 2008–09 season and a few weeks afterwards was appointed as technical manager of Steel Azin futsal team.^[3] He was head coach of Dabiri Tabriz FSC at the time of his death.

Death

On August 10, 2011 Masoumi died from blood cancer from which he had been suffering since 2008.^[4] Despite this, Masoumi believed beforehand that he was cured of the disease.^[5]
Masoumi had struggled to pay for his medical care and in November 2008, an exhibition game was played between Esteghlal and a Selection of Karaj team in order to raise money for the medical treatment of Masoumi and Mohammad Parsa.^[6] In addition to this Iranian football star Ali Karimi paid for Masoumi’s medical bills.^[7] His body was buried on August 12, 2011 in Karaj.^[8]

Honours

Country

• AFC Futsal Championship
  • Champions (6): 1999 – 2000 – 2003 – 2004 – 2005 – 2007 –

Club

Individual

• Best Asian Futsal Player of the Year, 2003

His YouTube Tribute

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Billy Grammer, American country singer died he was , 85.

Billy Wayne Grammer was an American country music singer and noted guitar player. He was known for the million-selling “Gotta Travel On“, which made it onto both the country and pop music charts in 1959.

(August 28, 1925 – August 10, 2011)

Biography

Grammer, the eldest of 13 siblings (nine boys and four girls), was born in Benton, Illinois.^[1] His father was a musician; he played the violin and trumpet.^{[citation needed]}
He served in the US Army during World War II,
and upon discharge worked as an apprentice toolmaker at the Washington
Naval gun factory at Shop No. 20. Grammer married his high school
girlfriend, Ruth Burzynski, in 1944. Shortly after the war ended, 18,000
of a 24,000-strong workforce were laid off, including Grammer. The
couple returned to their home in Franklin County, Illinois.

Music career

Signed by Monument Records in Nashville, Tennessee, he scored with “Gotta Travel On”, written by Paul Clayton. The song peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart and peaked at No. 5 on the country chart in 1959. That same year, he became a regular cast member on the Grand Ole Opry.^[2] Grammer named his band after his most notable hit as The Travel On Boys. “Gotta Travel On” was used as the opening song by Buddy Holly on his final tour in January and February 1959, which ended in tragedy.^[3] He recorded the first chart version of Bobby Bare‘s “Detroit City“, entitled “I Wanna Go Home”. It hit the Billboard country chart in early 1963.
Grammer founded RG&G (Reid, Grammer & Gower) Company in 1965 with Clyde Reid and J.W. Gower.^[4]
RG&G made the Grammer guitar from 1965 until 1968, when a fire
consumed the factory in downtown Nashville. The company was then sold to
Ampeg, and a new factory was erected down the street from the old one.
The company was renamed Grammer Guitar, Inc. (GGI). GGI produced the
Grammer guitar until 1970. His guitar was installed into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville on March 1, 1969.^[1]
On May 15, 1972, Grammer and the Travel On Boys played at the rally in Laurel, Maryland where Alabama governor George Wallace was shot. Grammer and his band played the “Under the Double Eagle” march as Wallace mounted the stage to speak. After he spoke, Wallace mingled with the crowd, and Arthur Bremer shot a concealed handgun at the presidential candidate. The outcome was Wallace’s paralysis, leaving him using a wheelchair for the rest of his life.^[5]
“I’ve said all along, if they wanted to do something like this, they do
it under these circumstances,” Grammer said, weeping, after the
incident.^[5]
Grammer delivered the invocation for the Grand Ole Opry House opening on March 16, 1974.^[6] In 1990, he was inducted into the Illinois Country Music Hall of Fame, along with Tex Williams, Lulu Belle and Scotty, and Patsy Montana.
Grammer suffered from a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa.^[7] and became completely blind.^[7] On February 27, 2009, he was honored by the Grand Ole Opry for his 50 year membership.^[7]

Death

Grammer died on August 10, 2011, aged 85, at Benton Hospital, where
had been receiving treatment for a long-term illness, which included
suffering a heart attack seven months earlier.^[8]

Singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions
		US Country	US	US R&B	CAN Country
1959	“Gotta Travel On”	5	4	14	—
	“The Kissing Tree”	—	60	—	—
	“Bonaparte’s Retreat”	—	50	—	—
1963	“I Wanna Go Home“	18	—	—	—
1964	“I’ll Leave the Porch Light A-Burning”	43	—	—	—
1966	“Bottles”	35	—	—	—
	“The Real Thing”	30	—	—	—
1967	“Mabel (You Have Been a Friend to Me)”	48	—	—	14
1968	“The Ballad of John Dillinger”	70	—	—	—
1969	“Jesus Is a Soul Man”	66	—	—	5

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