Written by Jon Williams
The past several weeks have seen a number of notable figures
pass away. As April draws to a close, we want to pause to remember their lives
and careers.
Most prominent, of course, was former First Lady Barbara
Bush, who passed on April 17 at age 92. She served as Second Lady from 1981
through 1989 as her husband
George
Bush was vice president to Ronald Reagan, and then became first lady from
1989 through 1993 as Mr. Bush served one term as president. Their son
George
W. Bush also served as president from 2001 through 2009, while another son,
Jeb Bush, served as governor of Florida. As part of this lengthy political
career, she was a fierce advocate for the ability to read, starting the Barbara
Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and stressing the importance of reading to
children as an essential part of their development. Her foundation has raised
millions of dollars toward this goal since its inception in 1989, and libraries
were particularly near and dear to her heart.
Also last weekend, on April 20, we lost
Avicii,
the stage name of Tim Bergling, a Swedish DJ and producer of electronic dance
music. He was just 28 years old. Getting into the music scene as a teenager,
Avicii released his breakout single
“Levels”
in 2011, leading up to his debut album
True
in 2013. He followed that up with
Stories
in 2015. His single “Sunshine” with
David
Guetta was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2012, and over the course of his
career he also collaborated with such artists as
Coldplay,
Lenny
Kravitz, and
Madonna,
among many others.
Harry
Anderson was immediately recognizable from his iconic portrayal of Judge
Harry Stone on the sitcom
Night
Court, which ran for nine seasons from 1984 through 1992. He followed
that up with four seasons of
Dave’s
World, based on the writings of
Dave
Barry. Prior to both of those shows, he had a recurring role on
Cheers,
one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, which helped propel him to fame.
He also starred as part of the ensemble cast of the 1990 miniseries
It,
based on the
novel
by Stephen King, which has seen a resurgence of popularity lately due to
the highly successful new
big-screen
adaptation. He passed away on April 16 at the age of 65.
The day before, on April 15, beloved actor
R.
Lee Ermey passed away at 74. His voice and bearing led to him being cast
often in roles of authority, which followed from his first career as a drill
instructor and staff sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. It’s
appropriate, then, that his most famous role was as a drill instructor in
Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 Vietman War film
Full
Metal Jacket. He played the ghost of a drill instructor in
The
Frighteners, and voiced the leader of the army men in Disney-Pixar’s
Toy
Story trilogy. Over the course of a career that spanned four decades, he
also appeared in such films as
Seven,
Dead
Man Walking,
Mississippi
Burning, and two
Texas
Chainsaw Massacre movies of the 2000s.
Despite the fact that filmmaker
Milos
Forman worked primarily in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, he made a
number of acclaimed American films. Starting out by acting and then writing and
directing Czech films in the 1950s and 1960s, he made a splash not long after
beginning to work in the U.S. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for
1975’s
One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which also won Best Picture. He won the
award again in 1985 for
Amadeus,
and was nominated in 1997 for
The
People vs. Larry Flint. He passed away on April 13 at age 86.
Finally, and most recently, musician
Bob
Dorough passed away earlier this week, on April 23, at 94. His name may not
ring a bell, but chances are decent that you’ve heard some of his work. His
most famous creation is the music of
Schoolhouse
Rock!, a, educational Saturday morning cartoon series that helped a
generation of children learn about a wide variety of topics. The show and its
music are still beloved by those who grew up with it.
These influential people have created and advocated for a
wealth of incredible work that will be enjoyed for years to come, and their
losses are keenly felt. Click the links above order titles to share with
patrons, or SmartBrowse their names on our website for more.