George William Samuel Abbey (August 21, 1932 – March 24, 2024) was an American engineer who was director of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Fellow in Space Policy at the Baker Institute of Rice University.

FLY HIGH George Abbey dead at 91: Legendary NASA director & ‘father of modern spaceflight’ mourned after decades-long career

Abbey was a crucial figure in the Apollo program, which saw the first man to land on the Moon during the late 1960s

Quote: I loved Lou. We did The Choirboys in an ensemble, and then later starred together in Diggstown. That experience cemented a lifelong friendship. I had always admired his fabulous talent, but grew to admire his modest demeanor more. A true gentleman. #RIP https://t.co/Bho6P5AwSC
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 29, 2024

Joe Lieberman

James Ross MacDonald (February 27, 1923 – March 30, 2024) was an American physicist, who was instrumental in building up the Central Research laboratories of Texas Instruments (TI).

Canadian comedian Joe Flaherty

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-...235864525/

Nobel Prize winning economist Daniel Kahneman

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024...n-obituary

Nobel Prizes should not be awarded for pseudo-sciences like economics.

"Captain Crunch" Kolen (January 31, 1948 – April 3, 2024)....
played linebacker in Super Bowl VIII someplace you might have heard of....
....War Eagle! R.I.P.

Jordan Meredith
Rice volleyball, 2008-2011
Passed away Wednesday or Thursday (4/3 or 4/4)
Reported by her brother Max on Facebook.

The Owlmanac reported that 1967 graduate Dr. Steven R. Alexander died in August 2023. However, Steve Alexander powder-puff coach and *** laude graduate, is alive, doing well and still teaching at Stanford. The Dr. Alexander who died was ten years older and went to Cornell. Oops!

Former major league pitcher Pat Zachry dies at 71

Peter Higgs, physicist behind groundbreaking Higgs boson particle prediction, dead at 94

2013 Nobel Prize recipient proposed particle's existence nearly 50 years before its official discovery

OJ Simpson - 76 - cancer

(04-11-2024 09:52 AM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  OJ Simpson - 76 - cancer

Sumo champ Akebono dies of heart failure at 54, to no one's surprise.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68787193

Robert MacNeil, longtime PBS anchorman, dies at 93

Quote:Robert MacNeil, the longtime PBS anchor who started "PBS NewsHour," has died at the age of 93.

His daughter Alison MacNeil confirmed that her father, who was also known as Robin, died Friday at a Manhattan hospital.

PBS NewsHour co-anchors Geoff Bennett and Amna Nawaz said, "Robin was one of a kind. With his distinctive voice, he brought stories to life — unraveling complex issues with clarity and compassion. Whether it was through his incisive reporting or his intimate interviews, he possessed a singular ability to connect with people. As we reflect on his many contributions, we honor his memory by continuing to pursue the truth and by fostering connections that bridge divides – just as Robin did with such grace and vigor. We are deeply grateful for the enduring legacy he leaves behind," according to the network.

MacNeil launched what became "PBS NewsHour" in 1975 alongside former Texas newspaperman Jim Lehrer. He was known for offering reputable, straightforward reporting on world events, according to The Washington Post.

"We decided to do a program for the curious, and the informed, and the interested. And it worked," MacNeil told the Toronto Star after the launch of the successful venture.

The program started as a 30-minute time slot and expanded to an hour-long news broadcast in 1983. It was initially called "The MacNeil/Lehrer Report." By the time MacNeil retired as the venture's co-anchor and executive editor in 1995, it averaged around 5 million viewers a night.

Lehrer would continue the program by himself until 2011.

MacNeil once again appeared on PBS during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. After offering the station help, he covered and analyzed the devastating moment in American history.

He started as a writer for Reuters in the 1950s and later became a foreign correspondent for NBC News, where he covered the construction of the Berlin Wall, among other notable events.

In November 1963, MacNeil was sitting in a press bus in Dallas when shots rang out during President John F. Kennedy's visit.

MacNeil charged off the bus and followed police, then searched for a phone to call his editor; eventually entering the Texas School Book Depository, the same building where Lee Harvey Oswald had shot Kennedy, possibly passing him.

"I didn't register his face because I was obsessed with finding a phone," MacNeil told the Canadian Press in 2013. "Much later," he added, "it occurred to me that I was going in just about the time Oswald had been going out."

MacNeil began covering American and European politics in 1967 when he worked for the BBC. By 1971, he was hosting the "Washington Week in Review" for PBS.

He would later rise among journalism circles for his coverage of the Watergate hearings, for which he garnered an Emmy Award.

MacNeil has written several books post-retirement about his career in journalism, including "Breaking News" and "Burden of Desire."

Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, "Robin's passing marks the end of an era for PBS, and is a tremendous loss for our country.

"His work with Jim Lehrer during the Watergate hearings, was profoundly important and groundbreaking. In creating the MacNeil/Lehrer Report, and ultimately the NewsHour, Robin and Jim set the standard for excellence in news programming through their focus on the facts and the critically important issues of the day. While we mourn his death, we honor his life and work by building on his legacy."

Dickey Betts, Allman Brothers Band guitarist and founding member, dead at 80.

Terry Carter Dead: ‘The Phil Silvers Show,’‘Battlestar Galactica’ And ‘McCloud’ Actor Was 95

Quote:Terry Carter, who is known for his roles as Private Sugarman on sitcom The Phil Silvers Show, Sgt. Joe Broadhurst on crime solver McCloud, and Colonel Tigh on the original Battlestar Galactica, died at his home in New York on Tuesday morning. He was 95.

Carter was one of the first Black actors to be prominently featured in a regularly scheduled television series. He appeared in 92 episodes of The Phil Silvers Show through 1959. Then, in 1978, he transformed himself into Colonel Tigh on Battlestar Galactica, which ran for one season before being reformatted into Galactica 1980 for an abbreviated second season.

Feldergarb....R.I.P. Col. Tigh.

Former Rams, Eagles and NC State QB Roman Gabriel remembered as a great quarterback but also as great athlete


Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr. (August 5, 1940 – April 20, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL).

Quote:Robert Lee "Chan" Romero (July 7, 1941 – April 2024) was an American rock and roll performer, best known for his 1959 song "Hippy Hippy Shake", which he wrote when he was just 17 years old. Romero said Elvis Presley's 1956 performance of "Hound Dog" on The Steve Allen Show was a turning point in his life. He hitchhiked to East Los Angeles, California, in 1958 while still a teenager, where he wrote "Hippy Hippy Shake" and launched his career. An uncle introduced Romero and his music to an A&R representative from Specialty Records: Sonny Bono. Bono was particularly taken with a song called "My Little Ruby" and asked Romero to polish the song and to return in a few weeks. But since Romero needed to return to school in Montana, he never returned to Specialty.

Romero's career skyrocketed with the release of "Hippy Hippy Shake" in July 1959. Released first in North America and later in Australia and the UK, it soon came to the attention of Paul McCartney who liked the song and sang it at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the Star Club in Hamburg during his early years with The Beatles. It also did well enough in Australia for Romero to do a tour there with Jerry Lee Lewis. The 1964 version by The Swinging Blue Jeans hit number one across Europe. Romero's daughter stated in 2023 that Chan no longer received royalties for his music. Romero became the first Latino to be inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Artist: Chan Romero
Song: "Hippy Hippy Shake"
1959 Del-Fi Records