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Gerry Mulligan: Jazz baritone saxophonist
1927-1996
"Theater actors like to change character roles. They don't like to always do the same thing."
Baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, who helped pioneer the jazz movement and worked with Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, died at his home in Darien, Connecticut, January 22 from complications from a knee infection, widow Franca Mulligan said. He was 68.
Mulligan was a versatile musician who loved jazz, but could also jam with the big bands. The composer and bandleader was king of the cool style and sweet rhythm of the jazz era, which he helped develop with Miles Davis in the late 1940s.
Born in New York on April 6, 1927, Mulligan wrote arrangements for Johnny Warrington's radio band as a teen-ager and wrote for Gene Krupa's band after moving back to New York in 1946. He became part of the cool jazz movement and took part in Davis' recordings in 1949 and 1950. He won acclaim in 1952 after forming his first pianoless quartet in Los Angeles with Chet Baker on trumpet.
Haing S. Ngor: Doctor-turned-actor
"I am a survivor of the Cambodian holocaust. That is who I am."
Dr. Haing S. Ngor was an accidental hero born of tragedy. He was an Academ Award-winning actor whose focus in life was not his next movie deal, but the plight of his war-torn homeland. The Cambodian genocide of the mid-1970s wrenched Ngor from his cozy existence as a physician in Cambodia's capital of Phnom Penh and launched him toward a life of exile in the United States.
Ngor's Oscar-winning performance in "The Killing Fields" in 1984 told a story eerily similar to his own. Ngor escaped the deadly clutches of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge during the chaos of Vietnam's 1978 invasion, but not before seeing most of his family die in the genocide.
After his emigration to the United States in 1980, he settled in Los Angeles to work with refugees from his home country. His 1987 autobiography "A Cambodian Odyssey" painted a vivid picture of the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror.
Despite appearing sporadically in the movies and on television, Ngor dedicated his life to raising awareness about Cambodia's trauma and money for its victims.
Ngor was gunned down outside his modest Los Angeles apartment on February 25, 1996. His age was uncertain, although he was believed to be between 45 and 55. Police believe Ngor's murder was related to his vocal opinions on Cambodia.
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Minnie Pearl: Country comedian of priceless talent
1912-1996
"Love them and they'll love you right back."
For more than 50 years, visitors and viewers waited to hear one word: "How-dee!" That word, and the $1.98 price tag dangling from her hat, signalled to the crowd that Minnie Pearl, as Sarah Colley Cannon was almost universally known, had taken the stage. The famous cry fell silent March 4 when Pearl, 83, died after a February 25 stroke.
Pearl was the only female member of the Grand Ole Opry when she joined in 1940. At the time, the weekly live radio show was the premier showcase for country music talent. As an entertainer, her travels took her from World War II Europe to the White House. By the late 1940s, she was a major draw. Pearl also appeared on the syndicated TV show "Hee Haw" for 20 years. One of her late career triumphs was an appearance on "Comic Relief" in 1986, where she got a standing ovation performing with Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and other comedians.
Pearl was diagnosed with cancer in 1985 and underwent a double mastectomy. As she recovered, she continued to perform and did volunteer work to increase cancer awareness. A Tennessee medical center was named after her. In 1987, Pearl received the American Cancer Society's Courage Award at the White House. In 1992, she was among 13 recipients of a National Medal of Art. Pearl was married to her manager, Harry Cannon, from 1947 on.
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Don Simpson: A life as fast-paced as his movies
1945-1996
"There's very little I haven't done. And I'm sorry for none of it."
Don Simpson's career and life showed little sign of subtlety. With partner Jerry Bruckheimer, he produced a long list of big-budget, high-concept hits -- "Flashdance," "Beverly Hills Cop," "Top Gun," Beverly Hills Cop II," "Crimson Tide," "Dangerous Minds," and "The Rock" among them.
If Simpson's movies were loud, fast-paced, and raucous, his life was more so. His drug use was legendary, and his sexual exploits were chronicled in "You'll Never Make Love in This Town Again," the memoir of four self-described call girls.
Simpson's life might have made a good Don Simpson movie, if not for the unhappy ending. After Simpson was found dead in his Bel Air home January 18, police reported finding over 2,000 individual pills and capsules in his house. The Los Angeles County coroner said his body contained cocaine and a wide variety of antidepressants, tranquilizers and sleep aids. Simpson was 52.
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