Tag Archives: the 70s

From the Hollywood Reporter: Gregg Allman, the soulful singer-songwriter and rock ‘n’ blues pioneer who founded The Allman Brothers Band with his late brother, Duane, and composed such classics as “Midnight Rider,” “Melissa” and the epic concert jam “Whipping Post,” has died at age 69. He was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1999 and underwent a liver transplant in 2010. …

NBC News reports: Erin Moran, the actress who played Joanie Cunningham on the hit TV series “Happy Days” has died in Indiana at the age of 56, police said. TMZ first reported the death. The Harrison County, Indiana, sheriff’s office told NBC News that dispatchers got a 911 call for an unresponsive female at 4:07 p.m. Saturday and first responders …

Robert Philpot reviews: Although there were music videos before 1975, Queen’s clip that year for its now-classic “Bohemian Rhapsody” is seen as groundbreaking. That was before MTV, way before YouTube, and certainly before any of the five members of Pentatonix was born. But the Arlington-founded a cappella group — which released its latest EP, “PTX Vol. 4 — Classics” — …

The Washington Post reports: Last year, Gloria Gaynor’s disco anthem “I Will Survive” became one of 25 new additions to the National Recording Registry, a collection of sound recordings considered “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States” and kept at the Library of Congress. The wide-ranging registry includes Thomas Edison’s early cylinders, Martin …

Variety reports: Chuck Barris, who hosted “The Gong Show” and created “The Dating Game” and “The Newlywed Game,” died Tuesday of natural causes in Palisades, N.Y., his publicist confirmed. He was 87. His autobiography, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” was made into a film directed by George Clooney and starred Sam Rockwell as Barris. In the book (subtitled “An Unauthorized …

People Magazine reports: David Cassidy is battling dementia. The 66-year-old actor, widely known for his starring role as Keith Partridge on the 1970s series The Partridge Family, reveals to PEOPLE that he is fighting the memory loss disease. Cassidy, who watched his grandfather battle the disease and witnessed his mother “disappear” into dementia until she died at age 89, tells …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Mary Tyler Moore, whose roles as a perky housewife on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 1960s and as a spunky, single working woman in her eponymous ’70s sitcom made her America’s sweetheart, has died, her rep Mara Buxbaum confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. She was 80. Moore played opposite her TV persona and received …

Gay Star News reports: Brady Bunch actress Susan Olsen has been fired from LA Talk Radio for her using anti-gay slurs against a gay actor in a Facebook message made public. The politically conservative Olsen, who played Cindy Brady on the classic sitcom, was incensed when out actor Leon Acord called for her to be fired from the radio show …

The Guardian reports: David Mancuso, DJ and pioneer of New York dance culture, has died aged 72. Kid Recordings owner Craig Shifty announced the death on Facebook on Monday, writing: “He will be greatly missed, but, thankfully, he left the world a lasting vibrant legacy that continues to inspire and influence countless generations of music lovers and clubbers.” Cause of …

ABC News reports: Notable singer and songwriter Leon Russell passed away Sunday in Nashville. He was 74. Russell’s wife, Janet Lee Constantine, said that he died in his sleep, according to a statement on his website. Earlier this year, Russell had to postpone 28 concerts between July and September after suffering a heart attack. Still, his website said then in …

Via Entertainment Weekly: At 76 years young, Giorgio Moroder isn’t slowing down. The disco pioneer is following the success of his 2015 comeback album Déjà Vu by gearing up for more and more new music. EW has the exclusive premiere of Moroder’s new single “Good for Me,” released Thursday, with singer Karen Harding handling vocal duties. “My goal is to …

The New York Post reports: Hey, someone left the cake out in the rain! And I’m here to tell you all about it. Director Des McAnuff, of “Jersey Boys” fame, staged a workshop last week of a new musical about the life of disco queen Donna Summer. It’s a gender-bender, with women playing some of the men in her life. …

In case you feel like having a completely unproductive day, Pitchfork has created a ranking of their top 200 singles of the 1970s. Lists like these, of course, tend to generate plenty of dissent and arguing and that’s a lot of their fun. Hit the link for factoid-packed capsule reviews and YouTube links to David Bowie, ABBA, Donna Summer, The …

Yesterday the New York Times issued a lengthy report on the five draft deferments Donald Trump received during the Vietnam War. As is always the case with Trump’s memory and the facts, the story is rife with contradictions. From the Times: For many years, Mr. Trump, 70, has also asserted that it was “ultimately” the luck of a high draft …

Rolling Stone recaps: Fox offered up a new trailer for their Rocky Horror Picture Show remake during their Comic-Con panel on Thursday. In the clip, Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox – who plays Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania,” in the film – vamps it up to one of the musical’s signature tunes, “The Time …

Variety recaps: Garry Marshall, who created some of the 1970s’ most iconic sitcoms including “Happy Days,” “The Odd Couple,” “Laverne and Shirley” and “Mork and Mindy” and went on to direct hit movies including “Pretty Woman” and “The Princess Diaries,” died Tuesday in Burbank, Calif. of complications from pneumonia following a stroke. He was 81. Marshall went from being TV …

A new Mrs. Slocombe will soon be fretting about her pussy. From the Mirror: Fans of Are You Being Served? will find the news of a reboot bittersweet. In an age where a reboot is growing in popularity, it would seem that nothing is safe as the British sitcom is being brought back. It is the latest programme to be …

And yet another one. Rolling Stone reports: Earth, Wind and Fire vocalist and co-founder Maurice White died in his sleep in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening. A rep for the band confirmed his passing to Rolling Stone. He was 74. The singer had been battling Parkinson’s disease since 1992, according to TMZ. His health had reportedly deteriorated in recent months. …

This time it’s not a hoax. Via the New York Daily News: The long-time television fixture’s daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs, told the Associated Press her father passed away peacefully in his sleep while staying at her Woodland Park, New Jersey, home. Vigoda made his mark on the small screen playing the weary and bladder-challenged Sgt. Phil Fish on “Barney Miller” …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Actor Dan Haggerty of “Grizzly Adams” fame died early Friday of cancer, said his longtime friend and manager Terry Bomar. He was 73. Haggerty learned he had cancer of the spine in August and died at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Bomar said. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Haggerty was a product …