RIP ... Due to Coronavirus

[bigpern23]

Maybe each deserves their own thread, but we're seeing a lot of RIP threads on the front page right now due to COVID 19, and I suspect there will be more. Maybe we can keep them all here.

I'll start with the death of jazz legend Ellis Marsalis. Father of Wynton and Branford (the two most famous of his four jazz musician sons), Marsalis mentored artists such as Harry Connick Jr. and more.

I thought Branford was excellent on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, but my first exposure to the Marsalis family was when Wynton played a jazz concert at my high school. In an effort to connect to a bunch of dumb high schoolers who had little interest in jazz and even less knowledge, he mentioned that he wrote the music for "I'm Cool Like Dat" by the Digable Planets, which was a big hit at the time. I recently saw them in concert and, of course, they closed their set with that song. I couldn't help but think of Wynton then and I'm sad for him tonight.

 

[DanOregon]

That family is crazy talented. Wynton also made his mark in classical music. Branford had a bit of an acting career and I've always dug Buckshot LeFonque.

 

[OscarMadison]

That family is crazy talented. Wynton also made his mark in classical music. Branford had a bit of an acting career and I've always dug Buckshot LeFonque.

B. Marsalis' collaboration with Buckshot LeFonque is a masterpiece.

 

[swingline]

Marsalis left The Tonight Show because he refused to be the house negro and laugh at all of Leno’s stupid jokes. Said so himself after he left. I respected that principled stand then — and even more now when there are damn few principled stands to be found.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

No, he said he left because he found out the job was to be an ass kisser. Still a principled stand.

 

[swingline]

No, he said he left because he found out the job was to be an ass kisser. Still a principled stand.

You said it better than I did.

 

[goalmouth]

Marsalis left The Tonight Show because he refused to be the house negro and laugh at all of Leno’s stupid jokes. Said so himself after he left. I respected that principled stand then — and even more now when there are damn few principled stands to be found.

Typical celebrity yes-but-no. . What in hell did he think he was signing up for in the first place?

 

[Double Down]

Typical celebrity yes-but-no. . What in hell did he think he was signing up for in the first place?

Money. And kudos to him for getting plenty of it before saying **** it.

 

[qtlaw]

Typical celebrity yes-but-no. . What in hell did he think he was signing up for in the first place?

See its different because he's black. He had to respond to comments that would not have been made to Doc or McMahon. Its not the same for everyone.

 

[DanOregon]

Money. And kudos to him for getting plenty of it before saying **** it.

Questlove has said the same thing about the Roots doing Tonight - being a musician and having a steady gig, being able to figure out how much money you will be bringing home at the end of the year - and getting some friends some steady work. It isn't like they don't have time to still get into the studios or do gigs. You can have a four-hour work day, pre-show rehearsal, doing the show and you're out by 6:30 p.m.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Marsalis left The Tonight Show because he refused to be the house negro and laugh at all of Leno’s stupid jokes. Said so himself after he left. I respected that principled stand then — and even more now when there are damn few principled stands to be found.

Good for him. Had his own music career anyway ... and collaborated with the likes of Sting and James Taylor on the side.

 

[HanSenSE]

Anick Jesdanun, pioneer AP internet writer.

Anick Jesdanun, longtime AP technology writer, dies at 51

 

[Neutral Corner]

My wife's best friend's husband just... died. He'd had a touch of fever, and a cough, but nothing that seemed unusual. He laid down for a nap, and when she came in to go to bed he was gone. Probably corona, but I doubt he gets tested. He had multiple medical issues.

RIP GySgt Virgil Davis, USMC(ret)

Been a bad day. One of my wife's other best friends died yesterday morning. Not corona, multiple issues cascading. She was supposed to come home on hospice and didn't make it.

 

[OscarMadison]

Semper fi, sir. I am sorry for your loss (and everyone else's.)

 

[Neutral Corner]

SMH. Could have been a heart attack. I don't know if they'll do an autopsy, we'll probably never know for certain. They live in the country near Anniston, Al. His poor wife, this will be the third husband she has buried.

One had Lou Gehrig's Disease and lingered for years. It was just a horrible day for my us, my wife more than me, but I knew and liked both of them.

 

[swingline]

Three husbands? Jesus, that’s awful.

My grandma buried two. And her first two sons, including my dad nearly 20 years ago.

 

[Neutral Corner]

Yeah, it sucks. She's been my wife's best friend since seventh grade or so. Hell, she introduced us.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Pep's mother dies after contracting coronavirus

 

[OscarMadison]

Mathematician John Conway

 

[Spartan Squad]

Mathematician John Conway

****ing hell. I loved watching him on Numbephile. RIP.