Don Pardo, the voice behind Saturday Night Live for 38 seasons, passed away on Monday, according to his daughter. He was 96 years old. Pardo broke into broadcasting at a small radio station in Providence, Rhode Island and moved to New York City in 1944 to begin his six-decade tenure as a staff announcer at NBC. You may not know his face, but you’ve heard his voice: Transitioning to television, Pardo announced for such shows as Jeopardy!, The Kate Smith Evening Hour, NBC Nightly News, The Price Is Right, Three on a Match and Winning Streak. On November 22, 1963, Pardo delivered the audio news bulletin to NBC viewers that President John F. Kennedy, Jr. had been shot in Dallas. Pardo – a Massachusetts native who grew up in Connecticut – lost his wife, Kay, in 1995. He served as the sole SNL announcer for every season except one (1981-1982) and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2010. “RIP Don Pardo. A voice that meant so much,” Tweeted Seth Meyers upon learning the news, while Bobby Moynihan added: “On Sept 13th 2008 I heard Don Pardo say my name for the first time. I cried until the 16th. Thanks Don. I owe you a coffee.” Celebrities We Lost in 2014 1. Philip Seymour Hoffman R.I.P. Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014). He will forever be missed!
Do they deserve to die? Couple Accused Of Killing Girlfriend’s Mom In Bali Could Face Death Penalty The American couple arrested in Bali over the slaying of the woman’s mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack may be charged with premeditated murder according to police in Indonesia. The charge carries a maxiumum penalty of death. According to AP reports: Heather Mack, 19, and her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, both from Chicago, were arrested in Bali’s Kuta area Wednesday, a day after the body of Sheila von Wiese-Mack was found stuffed inside a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi parked in front of the upscale St. Regis Bali Resort in the island’s exclusive Nusa Dua section. An autopsy Saturday found that von Wiese-Mack, 62, died of asphyxiation from a broken nose bone resulting from a blunt blow, said Ida Bagus Putu Alit, head of forensics at Sanglah Hospital in Bali’s provincial capital of Denpasar. She also suffered from a broken neck, Alit said. Mack and Schaefer were charged with murder on Friday. Col. Djoko Hari Utomo, chief of police for Denpasar, said Saturday that police had enough evidence to charge them with premeditated murder. He reiterated that the couple was still refusing to talk to investigators without the presence of American lawyers. “But that does not hamper our investigation. We have enough evidence, including CCTV and fingerprints,” Utomo said. “And I am inclined to charge them with premeditated murder.” An FBI agent arrived Friday to help with the investigation, including on the couple’s possible involvement in criminal activity in the United States, Utomo said. In the meantime there are unconfirmed reports that Heather Mack is claiming she’s pregnant… Would that help her case? Pregnant or not, the results of the autopsy are pretty revealing: The autopsy found that breaks in von Wiese-Mack’s neck and nose extended to her upper right and left jaws, causing respiratory disorders, Alit said. It also showed hand wounds suggesting she was trying to fend off an attack. “We also found blood aspiration, which meant the victim was standing when assaulted,” Alit said. “The conclusion is that the victim suffocated from lack of oxygen because of influx of blood from the broken nose bone.” Alit said von Wiese-Mack was believed to have died Tuesday morning. “The victim was last spotted on CCTV at 3:45 a.m. (Tuesday), and three hours later she called receptionists asking to wake her up at 10 a.m.,” Alit said. “However, she did not respond when awakened.” Meanwhile, Bali’s deputy police chief, Brig. Gen. Gusti Ngurah Raharja Subyakta, said psychological tests showed that there were no psychiatric disorders with the couple. So no claiming insanity for these two. Do you think they’ll end up dying in Indonesia? Ironically, we recently learned that Heather’s dad was a noted classical and jazz composer who also died at a hotel abroad. James Mack, who was also the director of music at Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago, was 76 when he died in Greece in 2006 — also at a hotel, while on vacation. Instagram/APImages/TheCaxtonClub
Robin Williams is dead at the age of 63. According to The Associated Press, the former Oscar winner and veteran actor committed suicide inside his Northern California home. The Marin County Sheriff’s Office reports that authorities responded to a 911 call just before noon today and found the star’s unresponsive body on the scene; a coroner suspects suicide due to asphyxia. Williams went back to rehab last month to focus on sobriety and insiders confirm alcohol remained an issue for him up to the very end. He struggled with cocaine and alcohol abuse in the early 1980s, but had been sober for over two decades until recently. Williams was best known for his starring roles in classic films such Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire and Jumanji. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dr. Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting and had just starred last TV season in the fall sitcom The Crazy Ones. A forensic examination is scheduled for tomorrow with subsequent toxicology testing to be conducted. Celebrities We Lost in 2014 1. Philip Seymour Hoffman R.I.P. Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014). He will forever be missed!
Chris Brown and Drake were set to debut their much-anticipated new song Monday, but that idea was tossed after the former was denied entry into Canada. According to reports, Drake invited Chris to join him Monday night on stage at his OVO Fest in Toronto, Ontario, the city where he was born and raised. The singer agreed and planned to come perform the song on which they collaborated last month after the Chris Brown-Drake bromance went public. That won’t be happening, though, because Chris can’t get into Canada . The country has a zero tolerance policy, or close to it, when it comes to letting known criminals inside its borders, and the R&B star qualifies and then some. Chris Brown has been convicted of a violent felony, is on probation and awaiting trial for another violent offense (his alleged assault in D.C.) to boot. Brown’s people reportedly nixed the appearance upon learning that given the country’s policy, it was not happening, especially on such short notice. Looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out if it’s any good, or if there are really veiled references to Rihanna in the song, as the rumors say. In related news, Chris was also rejected by Karrueche Tran this week. 25 Pics of Chris Brown Thuggin’ It! 1. Chris Brown Smoking Weed Chris Brown smoking weed – 3 joints at the same time no less. What a class act as always.
Michael Johns, a singer who finished eighth on American Idol in 2008, passed away yesterday from a probable blood clot in his ankle. He was 35 years old. Johns released an album (“Hold Back My Heart”) in 2009 and married Stacey Vuduris in 2007. The couple did not have any children. A rep for the singer’s fansite tweeted the sad news earlier today, writing online: “It is with a heavy heart and inconsolable sadness that we confirm the passing of our friend Michael Johns.” Sources say Johns visited a doctor due to pain in his ankle on Thursday, but was sent home undiagnosed. His body was then found unresponsive on a friend’s sofa the following day. We send our condolences to his family members and loved ones. 21 Shocking Celebrity Deaths 1. Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away at the age of 46. He was found with a needle in his arm and had a history of drug abuse.
They’ve got space agencies involved in her “search & rescue” mission…SMH… Parents Of MH17 Victim Refuse To Acknowledge Her Death After flight MH17 was gunned down on Ukraine’s border , the wreckage alone told the grim reality that all passengers were lost . However, one family says they need more solid proof than an exploded plane to prove that their daughter isn’t still out there somewhere. Via MailOnline : George and Angela Dyczynski saw much at the MH17 crash site but nothing that diminished their belief their daughter, Fatima, somehow survived. The Perth-based parents arrived back in the Netherlands on Tuesday after a five-day trip during which they reached the crash site in rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine. At Amsterdam Airport, they clasped a flyer for the upcoming International Astronautical Congress in Canada and told AAP: ‘Fatima is a speaker at the conference.’ There was no suggestion the couple’s brilliant 25-year-old daughter might not be able to make it to Toronto in late September. Indeed, Ms Dyczynski later threatened to sue anyone who suggested – without evidence – that Fatima was dead. The professionals want Fatima’s colleagues from the space science community to become involved in the crash investigation. They want the best of the best on the case. Fatima had, after all, created a start-up company to send nano-satellites into space. ‘She was an aerospace engineer, she was a scientist, she was a young person with new ideas and new perspectives and new horizons,’ Dr Dyczynski said on Tuesday. ‘We want more scientific investigations with the data that’s already gathered. It should start now – not wait months and months until we forget.’ This is next-level denial. Hopefully this poor family can face the obvious facts and begin healing soon!
People ain’t isht , boy…SMMFH Philadelphia Police Looking For Carjackers Who Killed 3 Children In Crash Via FoxNews Police were searching for two men who carjacked an SUV and plowed into a group of children and adults selling fruit to raise money for their church, killing three kids and critically injuring their mother and the carjacking victim. Another woman was hurt but is in stable condition. The men carjacked a real estate agent at gunpoint Friday morning, forcing her into the backseat of her Toyota 4Runner. The SUV sped out of control about a mile from where the carjacking occurred, slamming into the children and adults manning the fruit stand, Philadelphia police said. “Three innocent children had their lives taken,” Philadelphia Homicide Capt. John Clark said of the victims, ages 7, 10 and 15. The suspects fled on foot. “There are no words to describe how I feel right now,” said police commissioner Charles Ramsey, “but we do need to find these two guys.” More than $100,000 in rewards were being offered for the suspects’ capture. Police also asked nearby businesses for surveillance video and pleaded with anyone with information to come forward. Police said they may have blown a tire as they turned a corner at high speed. The car ended up in a wooded area, its front end smashed against a stand of trees. “Something obviously went horribly wrong,” Clark said. The victims included a 15-year-old girl and her younger brothers. Their mother, 34, was in extremely critical condition, police said. Their identities were not immediately released. It’s one thing to steal a car, it’s a whole ‘nother level of ain’t ishtness to kill children and run away. THIS is where cops should be using all that pent up aggression to dole out a lil brutality. Image via AP
Would you be afraid enough to shoot without looking to see who it was first if someone was pounding on your door at 4 am? Michigan Man Claims He Shot Black Teen On His Porch Because He Feared For His Life The trial is underway for Theodore Wafer, a white suburban homeowner who shot 19-year-old McBride in the face as she sought help on his porch and he’s hoping the jury will sympathize with his fearfulness. Via Al-Jazeera America reports: Defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter on Wednesday appealed to a Detroit jury to “understand how Ted felt” before he shot an unarmed black teen on his porch last fall. “He was acting and reacting to escalating fear,” Carpenter said in her opening statement about Theodore Wafer, 55, on trial for second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Renisha McBride. “He had never been so scared in his entire life. It’s horrible and it’s sad that a 19-year-old woman is dead. But Ted is justified in what he did.” Whether it was reasonable for Wafer to think his house was under attack is the key question the jury must weigh as this galvanizing, racially charged trial proceeds in Detroit. Wafer is white and lives in the mostly white Detroit border city of Dearborn Heights. He killed McBride in the early hours of Nov. 2, when, he says, she was banging on his door. To the prosecution, this is a straightforward case of a trigger-happy homeowner who opened the front door and shot McBride rather than, if he was truly afraid, calling 911. He called 911 after the shooting occurred. “There was no sign of any attempted burglary, there’s no evidence of any effort to breaking in,” said prosecutor Danielle Hagaman-Clark in her opening remarks. “His actions that night are unnecessary, unjustified and unreasonable. Because of that, a 19-year-old girl is dead on a porch in Dearborn Heights. Would you have called 911 first? The defense attorney is already doing a “bang up” job describing Wafer’s state of mind before he pulled the trigger: Carpenter said Wafer was fast asleep in a recliner in his living room when, at around 4:20 a.m., someone banged on his door. Fearful, he lay on the floor and groped for his cellphone but could not find it. Over the subsequent minutes he panicked, believing his home was under siege by possibly more than one attacker and asserting he heard metal in the front door frame “breaking.” “They’re coming to get me,” Carpenter said, narrating Wafer’s thoughts in the moment. “It’s metal breaking. Breaking! On his front door. Ted hears it. Ted is thinking they’re coming in. They’re breaking [into] my house. Why? He doesn’t have a clue. He just knows they’re coming in.” Carpenter sought to defuse the racial elements of the case by insisting that Wafer didn’t know the color or gender of the person when he shot her. All he knew, she said, was that he opened his front door, noticed the screen frame a few inches out of its hinge and then fired the gun when McBride leaped onto the stoop, startling him. “Ted is shattered,” Carpenter said. “He knows immediately that he killed somebody … It was only after that he saw it was a shorter person. She seemed dark-complected but he isn’t sure. He didn’t know anything before he shot. All he knew was, ‘People are breaking into my house.’” Do you believe that he didn’t know she was black? In the meantime there is a lot working against the prosecution’s case, namely the fact that an autopsy has established McBride’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit and witnesses have confirmed she was drinking and smoking marijuana earlier that night. After opening statements, prosecutors called McBride’s mother and best friend. Between the two of them, they established that McBride had drunk vodka and smoked marijuana in the evening of Nov. 1 at home. Her mother said she and McBride argued because the teen hadn’t cleaned the house, and McBride left the house by car at around 11:15 p.m. Around 1 a.m., she crashed her car into that of Carmen Beasley, who lives about a mile from Wafer on the Detroit side of the city limits. Beasley said she tried to get McBride to stay put as they waited for the police and an ambulance, but McBride vanished. “She just wanted to go home,” Beasley testified. “She wasn’t belligerent. She was young and she just wanted to be at home. That was her goal, to be home.” This case is so sad. We really feel for McBride and her family and the prosecution is building a strong case that Wafer’s greatest error was going to the door with a locked and loaded shotgun, a weapon likely to do serious damage at such close range. But if a stranger knocked on your door at 4 am can you say you wouldn’t do the same? It’s not like he could see in the dark that she was bleeding from the head and needed help. Do you think it’s an open and shut case of him being guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter? AP Images
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