Tragedy has Rocked the John Travolta family. Travoltas i6 year old son Jett was transported to a Bahamian hospital and died on Friday. Jett Travolta apparently suffered a seizure and died while on a family vacation.
Marcus Garvey, an EMT who was on the scene reported the boy had a bump on his head, believed to be from hitting it on the bathtub, and was unconscious.
There have long been reports that Jett, who has a history of suffering seizures, was autistic, though John and Kelly denied it, saying that he instead suffers from Kawasaki Disease, a relatively rare illness which could cause heart problems. In an interview with USA Today in 2002, Kelly Preston recalled her son’s diagnosis after he became “very, very sick with high fever and swollen glands and peeling fingers and rash all over his body” eight years earlier.
John Travolta and Kelly Preston have released a statement thanking fans for their support after the death of their son 16-year-old son Jett in the Bahamas on Friday.
“We would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to everyone who has sent their love and condolences,” they said in a statement posted on Kelly’s Web site late Saturday.
The last surviving member of the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience, drummer Mitch Mitchell, was found dead in his hotel room early Wednesday. He was 61 years old.
Noel Redding - Jimi Hendrix - Mitch Mitchell
Englishman, Mitchell was a powerful force on the Hendrix band’s 1967 debut album “Are You Experienced?” as well as the trio’s albums “Electric Ladyland” and “Axis: Bold As Love.” He had an explosive drumming style that can be heard in hard-charging songs such as “Fire” and “Manic Depression.”
Hendrix died in 1970. Bass player Noel Redding died in 2003.
Mitchell had been drumming for the Experience Hendrix Tour, which performed Friday in Portland. It was the last stop on the West Coast part of the tour.
“He was a wonderful man, a brilliant musician and a true friend. His role in shaping the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience cannot be underestimated.” - Janie Hendrix, chief executive of the Experience Hendrix Tour and Jimi Hendrix’ stepsister.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1992. According to the Hall of Fame, Mitchell was born July 9, 1947, in Ealing, England.
Terry Stewart, chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, said Mitchell transformed his instrument from a “strictly percussive element to a lead instrument.”
“His interplay with Jimi Hendrix’s guitar on songs like ‘Fire’ is truly amazing,” Stewart said Wednesday. “Mitch Mitchell had a massive influence on rock ‘n’ roll drumming and took it to new heights.”
Rock On Mitch, we hope you, Noel and Jimi are Jammin again!
Levi Stubbs, lead singer with The 4 Tops died Friday at 72 years old. The Motown group of the ‘60 scored 24 Top-40 hits.
The Four Tops
Top: Abdul (Duke) Fakir (left), Lawrence Payton
Bottom: Levi Stubbs (left) & Renaldo (Obie) Benson
A remarkable singer, not your typical slick R & B artist of the day. Unlike the other smooth Motown singers of the era like Smokey Robinson, Eddie Kendrick, and Marvin Gay, Stubs had a Raw, Gritty Emotion which was his own unique style.
And, if you grew up in the ’60s and ’70s there’s no doubt you remember “Baby I Need Your Lovin”, “Reach Out - I’ll Be There” or “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch- I Can’t Help Myself”. Check out this Incredible Video!
Academy Award winning actor Paul Newman died Friday at his home near Westport, Conn., after a long battle with cancer. With 65 movies over more than 50 years, Newman was an Hollywood Icon.
Paul Newman RIP
Famous for his roles i: “The Hustler,” “Hud,” “Cool Hand Luke” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
“It’s a great loss, in so many ways,” Martin Scorsese, who directed Newman in “The Color of Money,” said in a statement Saturday. “The history of movies without Paul Newman? It’s unthinkable. . . . His powerful eloquence, his consummate sense of craft, so consummate that you didn’t see any sense of effort up there on the screen, set a new standard.”
Robert Redford, Newman’s “Sundance” co-star, said in a statement, “There is a point where feelings go beyond words. I have lost a real friend. My life — and this country — is better for his being in it.”
Nominated eight times for Academy Awards in the best-actor category, Newman won only once, for “The Color of Money” (1986), in which he reprised the role of “Fast” Eddie Felson that he originated in 1961’s “The Hustler.” He also took home honorary Oscars in 1985 for career achievement and in 1993 for his humanitarian efforts.
Newman had a passion for Car Racing, as well as for life. He remained married to the same woman, his wife of 50 years Joanne Woodward.
A Tragic Plane Crash which killed four and left Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein and Travis Barker seriously injured.
Travis Baker - DJ AM
Goldstein 35 is a Celebrity DJ at Pure at Caesars, and an investor in LAX at Luxor in Las Vegas. Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, 32, who not only played drums in the platinum-selling band but also starred in his own MTV reality show.
Lindsay Lohan posted to her blog: “please send your prayers out to adam goldstien and travis barker—along with the others lost in the plane crash…
“it’s so scary to think that life can end so fast…we must all treasure each and every moment—and be thankful for what we have…all my love..xoxo…L”
Samantha Ronson, who spins for the same Hollywood scene that made DJ AM a celebrity, had a similarly shocked reaction to what happened to Barker and her “good friend Adam.”
“i don’t really know what to say, it’s such horrifying news, but i was hoping you guys would please send him your best wishes/prayers because I don’t really know what else to do,” Ronson wrote. ”
“also for travis barker, who was on the plane. four other people were on the plane and did not survive, i can’t even imagine the pain their families must be in. soooooo sad and i’m so sorry.
Killed in the crash on Friday night included two members of Barker’s entourage, Chris Baker, 29 and Charles Still, 25. Pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31 and co-pilot James Bland, 52, were also killed.
Country Star Singer, Actor, Guitarist Jerry Reed, the famous Good Ol’ Boy from car chase movies like “Smokey and the Bandit,” has died of complications from emphysema at 71.
Reed had a string of hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, that included “Amos Moses,” “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot,” “East Bound and Down,” “She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)” and “The Bird.”
Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed
In the mid-1970s, he starred in movies such as “Smokey and the Bandit” with Burt Reynolds, usually as a good ol’ boy. But he was an ornery heavy in “Gator,” directed by Reynolds, and a hateful coach in 1998’s “The Waterboy,” starring Adam Sandler.
Reed and Kris Kristofferson paved the way for Nashville music personalities to make inroads into films. Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers (TV movies) followed their lead.
Most people don’t know that Jerry was actually a Smokin HotGuitarist, (he preferred Gibson Les Paul’s) with a distinctive style and influenced a lot of country and rock and roll players.
Rapper “Dr. Dre is mourning the loss of his son Andre Young Jr.,” publicist Lori Earl said in a statement. Young Jr., who was named after his father, was found dead Saturday by his mother at their home in suburban Woodland Hills, county coroner’s Lt. John Kades said.
Dr Dre Mourns His Son
An autopsy was performed Monday, but the cause of death wasn’t likely to be determined for eight weeks while toxicology tests are done, Kades said.
Grammy Award, Academy Award winning Singer, Musician Songwriter, Actor Isaac Hayes died at his home in Shelby County, Tennessee at age 56.
His album “Hot Buttered Soul” made Hayes a star in 1969. His shaved head, gold chains and sunglasses gave him a compelling visual image. “Hot Buttered Soul” was groundbreaking in several ways: He sang in a new “cool” style, and he started the song with “Raps”.
He was best known for his hit, the theme song for the 1971 movie “Shaft” which launched Hayes into International Star status.
Isaak Hayes Finds Freedom At Last!
A pioneer into new musical forms, Hayes In the early 1970s work laid the groundwork for disco, and artists like Barry White for what became known as urban-contemporary music and for Rap (he was rapping before there was rap).
Hayes was a talented songwriter. He was part of a songwriting partnership with David Porter, in the 1960s they wrote classic hits for Sam and Dave such as “Hold On, I’m Coming,” “Soul Man,” (That was also a hit for John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd as the “Blues Brothers“) and “When Something is Wrong With My Baby.” They also wrote for other Stax artists including Carla Thomas. Hayes was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002
Hayes was also a talented actor. He had roles in movies including “Tough Guys,” “I’m Gonna Get You Sucka” and “Hustle & Flow.” He had recently completed the movie “Soul Men,” in which he played himself; the film also starred Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac, who died on Saturday .
