AusCelebs Forums

British singer-songwriter Joe Cocker has died at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer.

Source: The Age

Another rock classic lost. Such a distinctive voice, and character. Goodbye Mr Cocker, sleep well. :sad:

British singer-songwriter Joe Cocker has died at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer.

Source: The Age

Another rock classic lost. Such a distinctive voice, and character. Goodbye Mr Cocker, sleep well.

Veteran actor Terry Gill dies

VETERAN British-born Australian actor Terry Gill has died.

HE was 75.

Gill appeared in dozens of major Australian productions, including the hit feature films Phar Lap and Crocodile Dundee and TV shows Homicide, Prisoner, Blue Heelers, Division 4 and Matlock Police.

The father of two was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014 and suffered a stroke late last year.

His wife Carole Ann Gill told Fairfax that they were "unprepared" when things turned for the worse several months ago.

"And for a man who was so incredibly funny and outrageous and all the things that made him so very special, it was such a shock," she said.

The Nine Network, which screened The Flying Doctors and Division 4, put out a statement about Gill's death on Wednesday.

"We are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Terry Gill," the Nine statement read.

"He was a much loved member of the Nine family, appearing in Division 4 and The Flying Doctors, as well as contributing to Carols by Candlelight for over three decades.

"We extend our sincere condolences to Carole Ann and all his family and friends. He will be sadly missed by all of us at Channel Nine, as well as by legions of fans around Australia."

Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek's Mr Spock, dies at 83

Actor Leonard Nimoy, who won a worldwide fan base as the pointy-eared half-human, half-Vulcan Mr Spock in the Star Trek television and film franchise, has died at age 83.

Nimoy, who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, died at his home in Los Angeles.

His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed the death to the New York Times. A private memorial service was being planned.

External Link: George Takei Facebook tribute to Leonard Nimoy
An outpouring of grief on social media has paid tribute to the man considered by many to be a geek idol.

Nimoy's Star Trek co-star William Shatner, who played hot-headed Captain James T Kirk, said he would miss the man he loved "like a brother".

"We will all miss his humour, his talent, and his capacity to love," Shatner said on Twitter.

Fellow co-star George Takei, who played Mr Sulu, posted his heartfelt tribute to Facebook.

"Today, the world lost a great man, and I lost a great friend," Takei posted to his public Facebook page.

"We return you now to the stars, Leonard. You taught us to 'live long and prosper', and you indeed did, friend. I shall miss you in so many, many ways."

Nimoy began his acting career at the age of 18, winning a sprinkling of small parts in 1950s television series, before landing the iconic role of Mr Spock in Star Trek in 1966.

Aboard the spaceship USS Enterprise, science officer Spock and his crew ventured around the galaxy exploring new worlds in death-defying odysseys.

The character Spock would be resurrected for several feature films after Star Trek snowballed into a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s and 1980s, making Spock's Vulcan salute and salutation "live long and prosper" a touchstone of the science-fiction world.

Nimoy would later reveal he based the hand gesture on a Jewish blessing.

US president Barack Obama said he "loved Spock".

"Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy," Mr Obama said.

"In 2007, I had the chance to meet Leonard in person. It was only logical to greet him with the Vulcan salute, the universal sign for 'live long and prosper'.

"And after 83 years on this planet – and on his visits to many others – it's clear Leonard Nimoy did just that."

In addition to acting, Nimoy was an accomplished director, directing two of the Star Trek films and 1987 box-office hit Three Men and a Baby starring Tom Selleck.

Last year, he disclosed on Twitter that he had been diagnosed with COPD, a progressive lung disease.

"I quit smoking 30 years ago. Not soon enough," he tweeted to his 810,000 followers. "Grandpa says, quit now!!"

n the minds of avid Star Trek fans, known as Trekkies, Nimoy and Spock were inseparable.

In 1975, he authored the book I Am Not Spock, attempting to open up space between himself and the character that had so captured people's imaginations.

But he would eventually embrace his role as an authority figure in the sci-fi world, writing a rebuttal to his earlier memoir in I Am Spock in 1995.

As Spock, Nimoy became a role model for nerds and geeks. He was calm under pressure with a logical response always at the ready.

He related an "embarrassing" anecdote to The New York Times in 2009 where he toured a California university with scientists who looked to Spock for approval.

"Then they'd say to me, 'what do you think?' expecting me to have some very sound advice. And I would nod very quietly and very sagely I would say, 'you're on the right track'," he said about his adulation in the science community.

Nimoy had two children with his first wife, and was married to his second wife Susan since 1989.

Nimoy built off his sci-fi and Spock fame for the rest of his career, lending his voice to documentaries, video games and television shows.

He sold "Live Long and Prosper" apparel, and waved the Vulcan salute at Star Trek conventions.

He returned to Star Trek as an older version of his Spock character in the franchise's reboot directed by JJ Abrams in 2009 and in a 2013 sequel.

Nimoy remained active in his later years, releasing photography books and poetry.

He also took a role on sci-fi TV series Fringe, which ran from 2008 to 2013 and was also directed by Abrams.

In his last tweet, posted Monday under his handle @TheRealNimoy, Nimoy said: "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory."

Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in the two most recent Star Trek films, said he was heartbroken.

"I love you profoundly my dear friend and I will miss you everyday," he said on Instagram, alongside a portrait of Nimoy.

"Today we salute the legendary Leonard Nimoy #LiveLongAndProsper," tweeted the nerdy hit CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, on which Nimoy once made a memorable cameo appearance voicing a Spock doll.

In the heart of Hollywood on Friday, fans paid tribute to Nimoy at his star on the Walk of Fame.

"Before Obi-Wan, before Yoda, before Star Wars - there was Spock," said Gregg Donovan, an English-born actor dressed in a top hat, a red tailcoat and white gloves, who said he once bagged Nimoy's groceries at a Los Angeles supermarket.

"I always remember his kindness. I told him I was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and he said, 'Keep going, don't give up'.

Terry Pratchett, author of fantasy Discworld novels, dies aged 66

Sir Terry Pratchett, the British author whose fantasy novels sold in their tens of millions worldwide, has died of a form of Alzheimer's disease aged 66, his publisher says.

News about the death of Pratchett came on his Twitter account in a series of tweets written in the style of his Discworld novels, where Death always talked in capital letters.

"AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER," said the first tweet on @terryandrob.

"Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night," said the second, while a third simply read: "The End".

Pratchett died at home surrounded by his family with his cat sleeping on his bed, Transworld Publishers said.

The author, who wore a trademark broad-brimmed black hat, was diagnosed in 2007 with posterior cortical atrophy, a progressive degenerative condition.

Continuing to write, he completed his last book, a new Discworld novel, last year before succumbing to the final stages of the disease.

Pratchett campaigned during his final illness for legalising assisted death.

He gave numerous interviews and lectures in which he spoke frankly about his disease — and his love of 16th-century English composer Thomas Tallis.

"I would like to die peacefully with Thomas Tallis on my iPod before the disease takes me over," he said in 2010.

"I hope that will not be for quite some time to come, because if I knew that I could die at any time I wanted, then suddenly every day would be as precious as a million pounds.

"If I knew that I could die, I would live. My life, my death, my choice."

British prime minister David Cameron tweeted: "His books fired the imagination of millions and he fearlessly campaigned for dementia awareness."

Literary figures also expressed their sadness. Canadian author Margaret Atwood wrote: "I vastly enjoyed his playful, smart Discworld books."

His publishers said the world had lost "one of its brightest, sharpest minds".

"In over 70 books, Terry enriched the planet like few before him," said Larry Finlay, managing director at Transworld.

"As all who read him know, Discworld was his vehicle to satirise this world.

"He did so brilliantly, with great skill, enormous humour and constant invention."

A unique creation, Discworld was a circular world set on the backs of four elephants standing on the shell of a giant turtle, populated by a vast and colourful cast of characters inspired by the worlds of fantasy, folk tales and mythology.

Pratchett used Discworld to parody those genres, but also to send up aspects of modern life by drawing often incongruous connections between his imaginary world and things ordinary people living in 20th-century Britain would recognise.

Selections of Pratchett's quotes quickly appeared on British newspaper websites while fans exchanged their favourite quips from Discworld characters online.

This was one popular example:

"DON'T THINK OF IT AS DYING," Death said.

"JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE RUSH."