Browsing: Arts & Entertainment

A Brief History On January 5, 1998, former rock and roll star and current Congressman from California, Salvatore “Sonny” Bono, died when he skied into a tree at a Nevada ski resort.  Sonny, former member of rock duo Sonny and Cher, was 62 years old when he died. Digging Deeper Born in Detroit to a Sicilian family, Sonny moved to California at the age of 7.  Bono’s first foray into the music business was as a songwriter, with the hit song “Needles and Pins” to his credit (#13 in US and #1 in the UK in 1964 by The Searchers).…

A Brief History On January 1, 2016, we started a new year with the same hopes and expectations we normally start every year.  Despite all the acrimonious politics, the Obama years had actually been slowly improving across the economy, for rich and poor alike.  Job numbers had grown for 81 consecutive months (a record) and Obamacare resulted in more Americans than ever having health insurance.  A Presidential election year had begun, and it was widely thought that this year would see the first ever woman nominated by a major political party (Hillary Clinton by the Democrats) and that she would…

A Brief History On December 30, 1970, former heavyweight boxing champion Charles L. “Sonny” Liston lay dead on the bedroom floor of his Las Vegas home.  There he would stay until his wife found his dead body on January 5, 1971, almost a week later.  Officially, the Coroner said heart failure (your heart always fails when you die, just sayin’) and lung congestion.  The body was already somewhat decomposed, making definitive analysis of cause of death difficult, and rumors started almost immediately. Digging Deeper Liston had won the heavyweight championship by beating Floyd Patterson in 1962 at the age of…

A Brief History On December 26, 2004, former NFL defensive end and perennial All Pro Reggie White was rushed to the hospital where he died from cardiac arrhythmia.  He was only 43 years old. Digging Deeper White played college football at the University of Tennessee (All-American there) and  then 2 years in the USFL before being selected by the Eagles of the NFL.  White also played for the Packers and the Panthers before retiring after 15 years in the NFL.  After 17 years of professional football, an extremely long stretch for a defensive lineman, the celebrated player finally retired in…

A Brief History On December 22, 1880, English writer George Eliot, author of such novels as Adam Bede and Silas Marner, died at the age of 61 of a throat infection and chronic kidney problems.  Eliot was actually a woman, born Mary Ann Evans in Warwickshire, England, and was sent by her family to receive a quality education, a relatively rare thing for a girl in those days. Digging Deeper Despite her obvious intelligence, the reason for her referral to the academic world was because she was not expected to land a husband with her decidedly mediocre physical appearance!  Her…