LaDonna
Adrian Gaines aka Donna Summer was
born in Boston, Mass. in 1948. One of seven children, she launched her 1st
album, “Lady of the Night” in 1974. She was catapolted
into discotech stardom with Casablanca Records release of the sexually charged international
smash hit, “Love to Love You Baby. Her success spirited
an onslaught of creativity.
Donna
Summer quickly rose to world wide fame and through the 1970s earned 5 Grammy
awards, landed No 1 Billboard Hot
100 hits plus numerous gold and platinum records for such infamous works as:
Last
Dance
Hot
Stuff
Bad
Girls
On
the Radio MacArthur
Park
Summer
also co-wrote:
Love
to Love You Baby"1975,
She
Works Hard For Her Money.
She
appeared in the 1978 film: “Thank God It's Friday" which won the best
original song Oscar for "Last Dance." She was the first singer to
have three consecutive double albums reach #1 on Billboard top 100.
Summer died
in Key West, Florida Thursday May 17th 2012 as a result of breast cancer while
working on a new album. She is survived by her husband, three daughters and
four grandchildren. Summer was 63
English
hairstylist Vidal Sassoon was born in London in 1928. Mr. Sassoon was the child of
poor parents. He began his working with hair apprenticing under Raymond Bessone
in a salon in Mayfair when he was just 14 years old.
Vidal Sassoon
revolutionized hairstyling and created an international fashion empire.
Sassoon’s geometric sculptural hair designs like the Nancy Kwan bob and the
five-point cut were inspired by Bauhaus architecture. He developed a sleek
tight helmet like look with a cut at the nape of the neck with a pointed spike
descending just in front of each ear. Sometimes dubbed “the wash-and-wear look”
the geometric styled cuts liberated women from the hassle of going to bed with hair curlers
and making frequent trips to the salon.
Sassoon opened his first salon in 1954. He opened salons on Bond Street in London, Madison Avenue in New York and, Beverly
Hills thereafter. Ultimately, Mr. Sassoon's would be the first hairstylist to develop a
worldwide chain of hair salons with more than 20 other establishments.
Sassoon also
created the well known hair products, shampoos, and conditioners famous today
and was one of the first to have his company purchased by a major corporation
(Proctor & Gamble).
In 1982, Sassoon
founded the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of
Anti-semitism, (SICSA). He
also authored several books, including “A Year of Beauty and Health”. He also created a 1980’s TV series
called “Your New Day with Vidal Sassoon”. A lesser known fact, is that Sassoon was appointed “Commander of the Order of the British Empire” (CBE) in a 2009 Birthday Honours.
Most
recently, a major motion picture documentary about his life was filmed.
See Trailer below
Sassoon died in
his LA home of natural causes. He was 84. He is survived by his wife,
Rhonda, and three children.
Maurice Bernard Sendak was born in Brooklyn New York on June
10, 1928. His first job as an illustrator was working on the “Mutt and Jeff”
comic strip. Famous for his work as a designer of theatrical sets, musician,
and most of all self-taught children's book author illustrator of “Where The
Wild Things Are” and over a dozen other picture books.
Including:
Kenny’s
Window - 1956,
The
Sign on Rosie’s Door -1960
The
Nutshell Library - 1962
Alligators
All Around
Chicken
Soup With Rice
One
Was Johnny
Pierre,
I don’t care!
Higglety
Pigglety Pop! (aka There Must Be More
to Life) – 1967
In
the Night Kitchen - 1970
Outside
Over There - 1981
Where
the Wild Things Are – In 1964 was
awarded the Caldecott Medal by the American Library Association and which
was later developed into a major motion picture in 2009.
We
Are All in the Dumps With Jack and Guy
– 1993
Brundibar
– 2003
Mommy - 2006
Bumble-Arty – 2011
My
Brother’s Book – 2013
22 of his books have been named New York Times best
illustrated books of the year.
The
Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration
The
Laura Ingalls Wilder Award
The
National Medal of the Arts, presented by President Bill Clinton
Took inspiration from his own like and the work of his life partner, Eugene Glynn,
who was a psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of youth who had died in 2007. Maurice
Sendak died in Danbury, Connecticut from complications of a recent stroke he
had had recently. he was 83.
Brooklyn, New York City Rapper Adam Yauch has died after
battling cancer for the last 3 years. His work with The Beastie Boys starting
out as a hardcore punk band with albums like "Polly Wog Stew" that evolved into
hip hop with a slew of hits such as "License to Ill", "Paul's
Boutique," "Check Your Head" "Ill Communication, and "Hello
Nasty”. Last month the Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame.
But Adam was much more than a performer, he devoted time,
energy, to fundraising efforts for such causes as freeing Tibet and
environmental issues. He put together a series of concerts, for Tibetan
Independence known as “The Tibetan Freedom Concerts” against Chinese
oppression, as well as forming a successful motion pictures production company
Oscilloscope Pictures.
