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☆ Dickey Betts, Fiery Guitarist With Allman Brothers Band, Dies at 80
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dickey Betts, a honky-tonk hell raiser who, as a guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band, traded fiery licks with Duane Allman in the band’s early-1970s heyday, and who went on to write some of the band’s most indelible songs, including its biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man,” died on Thursday morning at his home in Osprey, Fla. His death was announced on social media by his family. Mr. Betts’s manager David Spero said in a statement to Rolling Stone magazine that the cause was cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Despite not being an actual Allman brother — the band was led by Duane Allman, who achieved guitar-god status before he died in a motorcycle accident in 1971, and Gregg Allman, the lead vocalist, who got an added flash of the limelight in 1975 when he married Cher — Mr. Betts was a guiding force in the group for decades and central to a sound that, along with the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd, came to define Southern rock. Although pigeonholed by some fans in the band’s early days as its “other” guitarist, Mr. Betts, whose solos on his Gibson Les Paul guitar seemed at times to scorch the fret board, proved a worthy sparring partner to Duane Allman, serving as a co-lead guitarist more than a sidekick.

Persons: Dickey Betts, Allman, Duane Allman, ”, David Spero, —, Gregg Allman, Cher — Mr, Betts, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gibson Les Paul Organizations: Stone Locations: Fla, Southern

☆ Bill Hayes, Enduring Soap Star With a ‘Davy Crockett’ Hit, Is Dead at 98
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Bill Hayes, an actor and singer whose 2,141 episodes of “Days of Our Lives” over five and a half decades constituted the daytime drama version of an ultramarathon, and whose top-selling 1955 single, “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” remains seared into the memories of the baby boom generation, died on Jan. 12 at his home in Studio City, Calif. His wife and longtime co-star, Susan Seaforth Hayes, confirmed his death. To soap opera fans, Mr. Hayes was a staple of weekday afternoons from the days of rabbit-ear antennas into the streaming era. He began his tenure on the long-running NBC show in 1970. His character, Doug Williams, was a suave and slippery con artist who, after leaving prison, found himself padding through the maze of the plot twists, double-crosses and big reveals that day after day drew viewers back to the fictional Midwestern town of Salem.

Persons: Bill Hayes, Davy Crockett, Susan Seaforth Hayes, Hayes, Doug Williams Organizations: NBC Locations: ”, Studio City, Calif, Salem

☆ Tim Rogers, Hairstylist to the Stars and Moguls, Dies at 51
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tim Rogers, a sought-after New York hairstylist who fashioned gold-standard looks for a long list of notables, including Adele, Yoko Ono and Roger Federer, and commanded gold-standard prices to match, died on Nov. 3 at his home in Gaylordsville, Conn. His father, Ian Rogers, said the death came after a brief illness, which he did not specify. He worked with the renowned hairstylist Garren at his salon at the Henri Bendel department store on Fifth Avenue, and at the Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger salon on the Upper East Side, before partnering with Ms. Hershberger, another high-profile hairstylist, at a salon on West 26th Street in Manhattan in 2016. “Tim was able to sit with clients and determine exactly what would work best for their style,” Ms. Hershberger wrote in an email. “His overall style was very polished and classic and stylish, with a bit of playfulness — a prototypical British hairstylist, which was unique in New York.”Mr. Rogers became a fixture in the fashion world.

Persons: Tim Rogers, New York hairstylist, Adele, Yoko Ono, Roger Federer, Ian Rogers, Rogers, Garren, Henri Bendel, Sharon Dorram, Sally Hershberger, Hershberger, “ Tim, Ms, “, ” Mr, Annie Leibovitz, Norman Jean Roy, Patrick Demarchelier, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Diane Sawyer, Carey Mulligan, Mary, Kate, Ashley Olsen Organizations: New York, Vogue Locations: New, Gaylordsville, Conn, Britain, New York, Manhattan, British

☆ Domenico Spano Dies at 79; Clothier of Stars Found Fame of His Own
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Domenico Spano, a New York custom clothier who outfitted captains of industry and Hollywood stars, and whose own dandyish style made him a highly recognizable peacock on the streets of the city as well as in newspaper fashion pages, died on Oct. 23 in Manhattan. His daughter Elisabeth Spano said he died in a hospital of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Mr. Spano, who went by the nickname Mimmo, was born in the Calabria region of southern Italy. But although he grew up in a country known for its illustrious fashion history, he made his name in New York as a champion of classic American style, as epitomized by the timeless elegance of silver-screen legends like Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Cary Grant and Gary Cooper. With his own head-turning outfits, rendered in colorful patterns and bold prints and complete with felt fedoras, paisley scarfs, suspenders, bow ties and an ever-present carnation in his lapel, he would become a fixture in street-style columns like The New York Times’s “On the Street,” written and shot by his friend, the photographer and fashion-world institution Bill Cunningham.

Persons: Domenico Spano, Elisabeth Spano, Spano, Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, fedoras, paisley scarfs, Bill Cunningham Organizations: Hollywood Locations: New York, Manhattan, Calabria, Italy, York

☆ Burt Young, ‘Rocky’ Actor Who Played Complex Tough Guys, Dies at 83
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Burt Young, a burly Queens-bred actor who leveraged a weary gravitas and bare-knuckled demeanor to build a prolific career as a Hollywood tough guy in films like “Chinatown,” “Once Upon a Time in America” and, most notably, “Rocky,” for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles. With his bulldog build and his doleful countenance, Mr. Young amassed more than 160 film and television credits. He often played a mob boss, a street-smart detective or a bedraggled working man. But even when he played a villain, he was no mere heavy. Despite his background as a Marine and a professional boxer, Mr. Young brought layers of complexity to his work.

Persons: Burt Young, “, Anne Morea Steingieser, Young, . Young, Lee Strasberg, Sam Peckinpah, James Caan, Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw Organizations: “ Convoy Locations: Queens, Hollywood, America, Los Angeles

☆ Terry Kirkman, Whose Band Was a Late-1960s Hit Machine, Dies at 83
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His wife, Heidi Kirkman, said the cause was congestive heart failure. A gifted musician who could play up to two dozen instruments, Mr. Kirkman and Jules Alexander, a guitarist and songwriter, formed the six-member Association in 1965. With a folk-inflected sound that was both sunny and sophisticated, the Association proved a veritable AM radio hit factory in its late-1960s heyday. The band’s debut album, “And Then … Along Comes the Association,” released in 1966, spawned two signature hits of the era: “Along Comes Mary,” which hit No. The group's third album, “Insight Out,” released the next year, included two more Top 10 hits: “Never My Love” and “Windy,” the group's second No.

Persons: Terry Kirkman, ”, Heidi Kirkman, Kirkman, Jules Alexander Organizations: Association Locations: Montclair , Calif

☆ Bobby Schiffman, Guiding Force of the Apollo Theater, Dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bobby Schiffman, who guided the Apollo Theater in Harlem through the seismic cultural and musical changes of the 1960s and early ’70s, cementing its place as a world-renowned showcase for Black music and entertainment, died on Sept. 6 at his home in Boynton Beach, Fla. In 1961, Mr. Schiffman inherited the reins of the storied neoclassical Apollo Theater on West 125th Street in Manhattan from his father, Frank Schiffman. The elder Mr. Schiffman, along with a financial partner, Leo Brecher, had taken over the theater — a former burlesque house that opened in 1914 as a whites-only establishment — in 1935. During the 1930s and ’40s, the elder Mr. Schiffman provided early exposure to countless African American luminaries, including Count Basie, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington. “In Harlem show business circles he was God — a five-foot-nine-inch, white, Jewish, balding, bespectacled deity,” the music writer Ted Fox observed in his 1983 book, “Showtime at the Apollo.”

Persons: Bobby Schiffman, Howard, Schiffman, Frank Schiffman, Leo Brecher, Al Jolson, Marx, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, —, Ted Fox, “, ” Organizations: Apollo, “ Showtime Locations: Harlem, Boynton Beach, Fla, Manhattan

☆ Marc Bohan, Head Designer for Dior for Three Decades, Dies at 97
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His death was confirmed in a statement by Dior. Because he worked in an era before fashion became mass entertainment, Mr. Bohan was not required to be visionary. “I’m not designing to please myself or for a photograph,” he told USA Today for a 1988 profile. I have always in mind the reaction of women I know.”Courtly, taciturn and immaculately dapper even by the standards of midcentury Paris, Mr. Bohan was 34 when he was appointed head couturier for the House of Dior in 1960, taking over for the maverick Yves Saint Laurent. Mr. Saint Laurent, then in his early 20s, had been called up by the French Army during the Algerian war for independence.

Persons: Marc Bohan, Christian Dior, Dior, Bohan, “, ”, immaculately, couturier, Yves Saint Laurent, Mr, Saint Laurent Organizations: USA, of Dior, French Army Locations: Châtillon, Seine, France, Paris

☆ Gary Wright, Who Had a ’70s Hit With ‘Dream Weaver,’ Dies at 80
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Gary Malcolm Wright was born on April 26, 1943, in Cresskill, in northeast New Jersey, the middle of three children of Lou Wright, a structural engineer, and Anne (Belvedere) Wright. His mother helped instill in him an interest in music and acting, driving him to piano lessons and eventually to auditions. “I originally came into the play as an understudy to the main role, and then I picked up the main child role,” Mr. Wright said in a 2014 interview with Smashing Interviews magazine. While attending Tenafly High School, he played in various rock groups, including a duo called Gary and Billy with his school friend Bill Markle. Their single “Working After School” was played on the TV show “American Bandstand.”After high school, Mr. Wright attended William & Mary in Virginia for a year before transferring to New York University, where he switched his focus to medicine.

Persons: Gary Malcolm Wright, Lou Wright, Wright, Fanny, ”, Florence Henderson, “, ” Mr, Gary, Billy, Bill Markle, William, William & Mary, Chris Blackwell, . Blackwell Organizations: Rangers, Little League baseball, Tenafly High School, William &, New York University, Island Records Locations: Cresskill, New Jersey, Anne, Belvedere, Virginia, Berlin, Europe, Oslo, England

☆ Mark Margolis, Scene Stealer from ‘Breaking Bad,’ Dies at 83
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But no role made him as instantly recognizable to millions of viewers as his Hector in Vince Gilligan’s critically acclaimed AMC series “Breaking Bad,” starring Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn and Giancarlo Esposito, and its prequel, “Better Call Saul,” with Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn. The role, in “Breaking Bad,” brought him an Emmy nomination in 2012 for outstanding guest actor in a dramatic series. His Hector, or Tio, was indelible. Despite his lack of dialogue in “Breaking Bad,” Mr. Margolis proved a scene stealer from his wheelchair, his eyes bulging, his face trembling with rage, despite the nasal cannula pumping oxygen up his nose and his palm furiously banging his bell, taped to an arm of the chair, whenever he needed attention. “I tell people I’m the second-most famous bell ringer after Quasimodo,” he said in a 2016 interview with Vulture, New York magazine’s culture site.

Persons: Hector, Vince Gilligan’s, ”, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Giancarlo Esposito, Saul, Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Walter White, Cranston, ” Mr, Margolis, “, Quasimodo Locations: New Mexico, , New York

☆ Roger Sprung, Banjo Virtuoso of N.Y.C. Folk Scene, Dies at 92
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Roger Sprung, a banjo virtuoso and key figure in New York’s midcentury folk music revival, whose innovative picking and genre-mashing audacity earned him the unofficial title of the godfather of progressive bluegrass, died on July 22 at his home in Newtown, Conn. A New York City native who honed his skills early on by playing mountain music festivals in Virginia and the Carolinas, Mr. In the late 1950s, he played with a folk trio, the Shanty Boys, who recorded for Elektra Records. Sprung was inducted into the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, which cites the Kingston Trio and Béla Fleck as having been influenced by him. Steve Martin, another Hall of Fame member whose banjo prowess was a cornerstone of his early comedy act, has owned a Gibson RB-18 five-string that once belonged to Mr.

Persons: Roger, Nancy, Kay Starr, Jimmy Dean, Béla Fleck, Steve Martin Organizations: York City, Carolinas, Boys, Elektra Records, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame, Kingston Trio, Fame, Gibson Locations: Newtown, Conn, York, Virginia, Greenwich Village, Oklahoma City

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