- William Donaldson a.k.a. Henry Root: His obit in the Telegraph might be one of the best things I’ve read all year.
- Lesley Smith: One half of the Lesney partnership that produced Matchbox Cars, the classy die cast cars which were vastly superior to the garish Hot Wheels (at least until 1997 when Matchbox was purchased by Mattel).
- The voices of Pooh and Piglet may have died on the same day, but two stars of the terrific cult television show U.F.O. died within a day of each other. Ed Bishop’s obit is terrific.
- Simon Waronker: Liberty Records founder, discoverer of Julie London, and the namesake of Simon in Alvin and The Chipmunks.
- Dorothy Chase: Co-founder of the Claremont Folk Music Center in Claremont, CA. Possibly even more influential to me than any other music shop in getting me to try out oddball instruments.
- Doran William Cannon: Noteworthy for two things – the screenplays for two of the most bizarre movies to come out of a major studio: Skidoo and Brewster McCloud.
- James Stockdale: Possibly best known as Ross Perot’s 1992 running-mate, Stockdale’s son has been heavily involved with my alma mater Webb School and on occasion the Vice Admiral would come by to visit and speak at one of the graduation ceremonies.
- Higley’s Coffee Shop in La Cañada, California. I’ve been going to Higley’s for 11 years now and I’m sad to see it go.
- The Ford Thunderbird: the last date of production was July 1. Thunderbirds had been built at the Wixom plant since 1958.
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by Chris Barrus