2025-2026 Final Salutes, Part the First

  

Final Salute -- Part  the  first

 Scientist and medical engineer Robert Jarvik (died May 26, 2025) is most known as developer of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart.  One of the early incarnations of this device was first implanted in 1982, into Barney Clark.

American scientist George E. Smith (May 28, 2025) was co-inventor of the CCD image device, also called the electronic eye.

Composer Alf Clausen (May 29, 2025) scored several dozen films and TV shows.  He’s most known for his 1990-2017 run as sole composer for The Simpsons.

Actress Valerie Mahaffey (May 30, 2025) started in soaps and appeared in films.  She won an Emmy for her work in Northern Exposure and had recurring roles in Dead to Me and Young Sheldon.

Renée Victor (May 30, 2025) was a singer and actress who appeared in Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, ER, and did voice work for the 2017 film Coco.

Actor Jonathon Joss (June 1, 2025) voiced John Redcorn for 10+ seasons of King of the Hill and had a recurring role in Parks and Recreation.

English novelist Frederick Forsyth (June 9, 2025) sold many millions of his espionage thrillers, many being filmed.  Some of his most famous titles are The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, and The Day of the Jackal.

Actor Chris Robinson (June 9, 2025) guested in many properties, but his longest streaks were in soaps like Another World (20 episodes) and General Hospital (900+ episodes).  His most memorable pop-culture attribute may be the 1984 couch-syrup commercial in which he proclaimed, “I’m not a doctor, but I do play one on TV.”

Musical performer and frontman Sly Stone (June 9, 2025) helped develop the funk sound across the 1960s and 70s airwaves.  With the Family Stone, his most famous singles include “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” “Family Affair,” and “Everyday People.”

Oklahoma broadcasting legend Gary England (June 10, 2025) graduated from OU in 1965 and never stopped serving his fellow Sooners.  He gave a live-TV cut-in for a Union City F4 in 1973 and in 1982 issued the first Doppler-verified tornado warning.  He invented the Oklahoma-map TV overlay to provide alerts to viewers.  His weather footage appeared in Twister! and he appeared in the 2021 film Iké Boys.

Musician Selby Minner (June 10, 2025) was in the band Blues on the Move.  She co-founded Rentiesville’s historic Down Home Blues Club, and the Dusk ‘til Dawn Blues Festival in 1991.

Singer-producer-songwriter and Beach Boy Brian Wilson (June 11, 2025) co-founded the singing group which spread “the California sound” around the world.  Among his most-known songs are “Don’t Worry Baby,” Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “I Get Around,” and “God Only Knows.”

Ananda Lewis (June 11, 2025) was a host for BET and MTV and hosted a radio talk show.

Actor David Hekili Kenui Bell (June 12, 2025) voiced in Lilo & Stitch and appeared in the newer incarnations of Hawaii Five-O and Magnum, PI.

Anne Burrell (June 17, 2025) was a culinary instructor and hosted or co-hosted shows for the Food Network.

Actress Lynn Hamilton (June 19, 2025) was most known for recurring roles on The Waltons and Sanford and Son.

Oklahoma TV-comedy legend Gailard Sartain (June 19, 2025) won the hearts of Northeastern Oklahoma adolescents on his 1970-73 late-night show Mazeppa Pompazoidi’s Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting, which also gave Gary Busey his onscreen start. Sartain appeared on Hee Haw in the Seventies.  He played Chuck in three Ernest movies, Oliver Hardy in a 1999 video movie, and the Big Bopper opposite Busey in The Buddy Holly Story. He provided the cover art for Leon Russell’s Will O’ the Wisp and Tulsa’s 2001 Mayfest.

Frederick Smith (June 21, 2025) earned a C at Yale for a paper outlining a prospective overnight delivery service, but didn’t let that stop him.  After serving in Vietnam, in 1971 he founded Federal Express, and look at us now.

Psychologist James Maas (June 23, 2025) worked mostly in sleep research, with an emphasis on the effect of sleep on performance; he coined the term “power nap.”

Onetime teen heartthrob Bobby Sherman (June 24, 2025) appeared on shows like Shindig! and co-starred on Here Come the Brides. Big radio hits include “Easy Come, Easy Go” and “Julie, Do Ya Love Me.”

Journalist Bill Moyers (June 26, 2025) worked for JFK and LBJ and helped establish the Peace Corps. He worked to found the Public Broadcasting System in the 1960s. He worked for decades at CBS and hosted Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. He’s also known for his six-hour 1988 documentary with Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth.

Typographer Jim Parkinson (June 26, 2025) did design work for rock bands (Kansas, CCR) and created the logo for Esquire magazine.  His most-known work is the logo for Rolling Stone magazine.

Lalo Schifrin (June 26, 2025) was a jazz composer and pianist, but his biggest impact was film and TV scoring.  He worked on Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry series and scored THX-1138.  He’ll live forever in the title themes he crafted for Mannix and Mission: Impossible.

The end of Windows’ Blue Screen of Death was announced on June 26, 2025.  However, later reports demonstrated that it merely switched to a black color, with different wording.

Jim Shooter (June 30, 2025) began his comics career at 14 with tales for the Legion of Super-Heroes, and went on to work for decades at both DC and Marvel as editor, publisher, and writer.  In 1981, Dazzler #1 was sold only in comic-book stores, proving the strength of that market.  He enforced a strict no-gays policy at Marvel, and later co-founded Valiant Comics.

Actor Julian McMahon (July 2, 2025) played an FBI agent on several CBS shows and starred as a doctor on Nip/Tuck.  He’s also remembered as a doctor named Doom in Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Actor Michael Madsen (July 3, 2025) was widely known for his work for Tarantino, but is also familiar from appearances in War Games, Die Another Day, Species, and Free Willy.  He also voiced several video games.

Michael Dean (July 7, 2025) was an Oklahoma radio man for several decades, known as the Dean of Rock and Roll at KOMA.  His 2019 history Oklahoma City Radio is available from Arcadia Publishing.

Writer Martin Cruz Smith (July 11, 2025) published mainly suspense and mystery fiction, including the Arkady Renko series, which began with Gorky Park.

Singer-actress Connie Francis (July 16, 2025) became the first woman to reach Billboard’s No. 1 in 1960 (with “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool”).  She performed some of her songs in as many as 12 languages.  In 2025 her 1962 song “Pretty Little Baby” was revived on TikTok and other social media.

With his wife, composer Marilyn Bergman, lyricist Alan Bergman (July 17, 2025) won two Grammys, three Academy Awards, and four Emmys.  Some of his familiar songs include “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” “Yellow Bird,” “The Windmills of Your Mind,” and “The Way We Were.”

Actor Kenneth Washington (July 18, 2025) is most known for recurring roles on Adam-12 and Hogan’s Heroes, also appearing in Star Trek’s “That Which Survives.”

Actor-musician Malcolm-Jamal Warner (July 20, 2025) is most widely known for his 1984-92 role as Theo on The Cosby Show.

Flugelhorner Chuck Mangione (July 22, 2025) enchanted and repelled folks at the same time with his smooth renditions of cuts like 1977’s “Feels So Good.”  His music was featured in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics, and had a recurring role on King of the Hill.

Ozzy Osbourne, aka the Prince of Darkness (July 22, 2025) ruffled sensibilities and entranced youths worldwide as co-founder and singer for Black Sabbath, as well as solo releases.  Other appearances include the 2002-05 The Osbournes MTV series and a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.

Archivist Michael Ochs (July 23, 2025) was known for collecting rock ‘n’ roll  photographs, with as many as three million images.  At times he headed the publicity departments at ABC, Shelter, and Columbia Records.

Brash shirt ripper Hulk Hogan (July 24, 2025) outwrestled his grappling origins to work in film and TV, sell energy drinks and microwave burgers, and launch several short-lived restaurants.

Dame Cleo Laine (July 24, 2025) became known for her jazz and scat singing, appearing also on Broadway, the stages of Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and The Muppet Show.

Mathematician Tom Lehrer (July 26, 2025) had a side gig as a musical satirist in the 1950s and 1960s.  Several songs, like “We’ll All Go Together When We Go” and “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” continue in popularity.  Lehrer also provided songs for the sarcastic shows The Frost Report and That Was the Week That Was.  In a truly selfless act, in 2022 he relinquished all of his songs into the public domain.

George Nigh (July 30, 2025) was both 17^th and 22^nd governor of Oklahoma, and the first to win all 77 counties.  In earlier service in the state House of Representatives,  he introduced House Bill 1094 in 1953, suggesting “Oklahoma!” as the state song.

Actress Loni Anderson (August 3, 2025) made her splash on the 1978-82 series WKRP in Cincinnati as receptionist Jennifer Marlowe, deliberately inverting the Dumb Blonde stereotype with poise and wit.

Dame Stella Rimington (August 3, 2025) was the first female Director General of Britain’s MI5, as well as writer of a dozen or so spy novels.

Astronaut Jim Lovell (August 7, 2025) was the Apollo 13 commander.  He was also the first astronaut to go to space four times, was in the first crew to launch on the Saturn V rocket, and first to orbit the moon, as part of the Apollo 8 crew.

Songwriter-singer-pianist Bobby Whitlock (August 10, 2025) worked with Booker T and the MGs, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Delaney & Bonnie, and others.

Actress Danielle Spencer (August 11, 2025) became known as Dee Thomas on ABC’s What’s Happening!!  After fame passed, she became a veterinarian, TV-segment host, and clothing designer.

TV producer-writer Michael Sloan (August 13, 2025) worked on shows like Battlestar Galactica, Harry O, McCloud, and was co-creator of The Equalizer.

Author Greg Iles (August 15, 2025) published over 15 books including Sleep No More, The Footprints of God, and Natchez Burning.

Actor Terence Stamp (August 17, 2025) utilized his fruity English accent to great effect in films including  Wall Street, The Mind of Mr Soames, The Phantom Menace, and more.  But he’ll also be remembered as the Kryptonian General who had the effrontery to tell Superman to “KNEEL before Zod!”

Actor Jerry Adler (August 23, 2025) appeared all over, including recurring TV roles on The Good Wife, Mad About You, Rescue Me, Hudson Street, and The Sopranos.

Writer Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (August 31, 2025) published under several pseudonyms across many genres.  Perhaps her biggest genre contribution was her series about the historical Count Saint-Germain, who in her mythos derived his rumored long life from vampirism.

These people and things impacted the pop-culture REALM, and thus the whole world.  Thanks for reflecting on some of those who went before.  Join us on Monday for the next installment!

 

2010 Promo Trivia Questions

As mentioned in the previous post, for SoonerCon 2010 we enlisted OKC 's 92.5 KOMA to help spread the word. Here are the trivia questions I wrote and conveyed to Lisa Sykes.

SoonerCon 2010 Trivia Questions:

1.    What newspaper does Peter Parker, Spider-Man, work for?

2.    Name Superman’s birth planet.

3.    Lieutenant Ellen Ripley appeared in which film series?      

4.    Name George Orwell’s satirical novel on communism.

5.    Who wrote Fahrenheit 451?            

6.    What movie contained the line, “I’ll be back”?  

7.    What movie contained the line, “Take the red Pill”?   

8.    Who supposedly said, “He’s dead, Jim”?  

9.    What movie contained the line, “Use the Force, Luke”?      

10.             What movie contained the repeated line, “This means something”?  

11.             What movie featured Blue Meanies?   

12.             Complete this movie title: Edward __________hands.

13.             Complete this movie title: A Clockwork __________.

14.             What is Soylent Green?      

15.             Complete the phrase, Tarzan of the ____.    

16.             In War of the Worlds, what finally defeated the Martian invaders?       

17.             Who was the original host of The Twilight Zone?

18.             What was the name given the USA’s first space shuttle?

19.             “Mr Fantastic” is the head of what super-team?    

20.             Who was the star of TV’s Incredible Hulk?

21.             Who played Superman’s Kryptonian father in Superman: The Movie?  

22.             What does Wonder Woman’s Golden Lasso do?  

23.             Who played Count Dracula in the 1931 film?       

24.             Who is the High King of Narnia?

25.             Who carried Fay Wray away?    

26.             Who is Batman’s alter ego?        

27.             What does Billy Batson say to turn into Captain Marvel?     

28.             What vehicle serves as Scooby-Doo’s transportation?

29.             Who starred as the original Wolf Man?

30.             What’s the name of Jonny Quest’s dog?      

  

How many can YOU correctly answer?  The correct answers are in the comments!  See ya next time!

  

SoonerCon 2010 Giveaways

A few times in the early years of the revived Soonercon, we hooked up with Oklahoma City's 92.5 KOMA to give away passes for publicity's sake.

Above is the flyer, featuring great "Bubbas meet 2010" art which was also on the t-shirt.

Here is the text of the letter I dropped off at the KOMA studios, addressed to Lisa Sykes:

Lisa, you can give away the enclosed SoonerCon 2010 tickets ANY WAY you want.  You can keep some for station personnel (if they will be actually USED) or give them all away.  You can use the enclosed Trivia Questions (hope they are easy enough) or make up ANY GIVEAWAYS YOU WANT. 

-- much thanks,   Mark Alfred

Sound bites:

(you can also use the text on the enclosed bookmark flyers)

1) SoonerCon 2010 is Friday-Saturday-Sunday, June 4-5-6, at the Oklahoma City Biltmore Hotel at I-40 & Meridian.  It’s a Science-Fiction/Fantasy Convention with Oklahoma City’s Infant Crisis Services as its charity once again this year.

Guests include author Joe R Lansdale, artist

John Kaufman, and publisher Selina Rosen.  There’ll

be dozens of other writer and artist guests.

Activities include:

 

• discussion panels

• video rooms 

• Exhibitor’s hall

• Saturday-night dance

• Charity auction

• Art auction

• Author readings

• Art show

• Costumes

 

… And lots more fun!

 

2) SoonerCon 2010, Oklahoma City’s own Sci-Fi and Fantasy fan convention, is June 4-5-6, Friday-Saturday-Sunday, at the OKC Biltmore Hotel at Meridian & I-40.  It’ll be fun for fans of comics, TV, movies, books, and toys.

Some other time we'll share those trivia questions!

Invite Somebody to SoonerCon 2007

... If you want to, by printing out your own cards.

The phone number is for a comics store no longer in business, Atomic Comics, run by con chair Jerry Wall.  This was the point of contact for vendors, advertisers, etc, in the beginning of the revived Soonercon.

Yes, "Visitors from Beyond" was the theme of Soonercon 2007.  

See you next time, fellow visitors!

  

Coming Soon: SoonerCon 22!

... Or so we were informed in these two clippings from the June 28, 2013 Oklahoman.

Don't worry time travelers, you can STILL show up and buy tickets at the door!

This was just a tease on the Wednesday paper to keep your eyes peeled for Friday's edition.  Don;t worry, you'll get to see THAT coverage too, some ole time!

Stay tuned, fellow fans!

  

I Took the Odyssey! Did YOU?

Yup, as you'll recall, SoonerCon 2010 was called "A Bubba Odyssey."  I suggested it to Jerry as a reference to the film and book 2010: Odyssey Two.  And this was a celebration of a Yard Dog Press anniversary, hence the bubbas.

This is from the June 2, 2010 Oklahoma Gazette.

The above little blurb is from the June 2 Oklahoman.

The column above is from the June 3 Oklahoman.

And this coverage is from the Oklahoman for Friday, June 4.

It was great hosting Joe Lansdale and the other guests!  See ya in the funny papers.

  

Soonercon 33 Final Salutes

 

Actor Spencer Milligan (died April 18, 2024) is fondly remembered as father Rick Marshall in the 1974-75 Land of the Lost.      

            Actress Jeannette Charles (June 2, 2024) is famous for one role over and over, due to her great resemblance to England’s Queen Elizabeth II.  She turned down an offered Playboy centerfold out of respect for the monarchy.  Among her appearances as a queen were SNL in 1977; Queen Kong; The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash; National Lampoon’s European Vacation; The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!; and Austin Powers in Goldmember.

            MaryAnn Harris (June 3, 2024) was an artist and musician, as well as editor and promoter for husband Charles de Lint.  Both attended SoonerCon 10 in 1994.

Astronaut William Anders (June 7, 2024) circled the Moon on Apollo 8, when he read from Genesis and took the now iconic “Earthrise” photo.  He later was a US ambassador to Norway and served the National Space Council, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Atomic Energy Commission.

Astrophysicist Ed Stone (June 9, 2024) was a director for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was spokesman for the Voyager projects.

Basketballer Jerry West (June 12, 2024) played for the LA Lakers for over a decade.  Among his nicknames was “Mr Logo,” because his silhouette was used for the famous NBA logo.

            Actor Benji Gregory (June 13, 2024) appeared in many shows including The Twilight Zone, The A-Team, and Amazing Stories.  He’s most famous as Brian Tanner of ALF.

            The “Say Hey Kid,” Willie Mays (June 18, 2024), was an All-Star baseball player 24 times, making some of the most iconic plays in memory, including an over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World Series.

Some of the most impactful pop-culture roles played by Donald Sutherland (June 20, 2024) were in Space Cowboys, The Dirty Dozen, Animal House, the Hunger Games franchise, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), and the film M*A*S*H.

Surfing legend and actor Tamayo Perry (June 23, 2024) appeared in Hawai’i Five-O and Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides.

Actor Bill Cobbs (June 25, 2024) was seen in Oz the Great and Powerful, Night at the Museum, and The Brother from Another Planet.

Martin Mull (June 27, 2024) musicked and arted, but was most knownded for appearing in Fernwood 2 Night, Roseanne, America 2-Night, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Screenwriter-director Robert Towne (July 1, 2024) got his start writing for Roger Corman, and later became known for films like the first two Mission: Impossible films, Shampoo, The Last Detail, and the masterpiece Chinatown.

Canadian talent-scout-producer-agent Mary Martin (July 4, 2024) helped elevate the careers of Bob Dylan, Clint Black, Rosanne Cash, Leonard Chen, Van Morrison, and others.

Jon Landau (July 5, 2024) produced and co-produced several genre films including Avatar, Titanic (Oscar winner), Dick Tracy, Solaris, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

Among the many genre films featuring Shelley Duvall (July 11, 2024) are Nashville, Time Bandits, Popeye, and The Shining.  She also hosted the kid-friendly series Bedtime Stories, Tale Tales & Legends, and Faerie Tale Theatre.

Karola Westheimer, aka Dr Ruth (July 12, 2024) was a celeb who didn’t mind being made fun of as she advocated for awareness and openness in sex and other human relationships.

Actress Shannen Doherty (July 13, 2024) appeared in Little House on the Prairie and in Heathers, and voiced in The Secret of Nimh, but her biggest splashes were in Beverly Hills 90210 and a later role in Charmed.

 

Actor James B Sikking (July 13, 2024) was famous as the dad of Doogie Houser, MD and had long runs on Hill Street Blues and General Hospital, but he’ll always be cordially despised as the officious Captain Styles of the starship Excelsior in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Fitness guru Richard Simmons (July 13, 2024) made “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” a mocked term.  He played up his chirpy stereotype to maintain publicity for his projects and continued push for health and exercise.

Comedian-actor Bob Newhart (July 18, 2024) had at least four self-named TV shows and appeared in films (including voice work in The Rescuers), after beginning in standup. His somewhat subdued, put-upon aura resonated in a world increasingly keyed to the concept that success comes through conformity. By the end of his career, he’d shown that you gotta watch out for the quiet ones too.

Abdul Kareem “Duke” Fakir (July 22, 2024) was a co-founder of the Four Tops and its last surviving original member.  A few hits include “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),”  “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” and “It’s the Same Old Song.”

British singer-guitarist-songwriter John Mayall (July 22, 2024) played with acts like Manfred Mann and Eric Clapton. He was sometimes called “the godfather of the British blues.”

Known for cookies, Wally “Famous” Amos (August 13, 2024) was also an agent who signed Simon & Garfunkel, Diana Ross, and others. He borrowed from such acquaintances as Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy to open his first cookie store in 1975.

Rocker Greg Kihn (August 13, 2024) and his bands were known for songs like “The Breakup Song” and “Jeopardy,” but Kihn was also a Stoker-nominated author of stories and novels.

Entertainer Peter Marshall (August 15, 2024) hosted The Hollywood Squares 1966-81. He was earlier a radio actor and later parlayed his game-show characterization in mysteries and for PBS.

TV writer-producer-host Phil Donahue (August 18, 2024) did his best to merge compassion with outrage, to stir both controversy and insight.

            After being signed and then and injuring out of the AFL, John Amos (August 21, 2024) turned to acting, in such properties as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Roots, The West Wing, and Good Times.

            Poet, gamer, and OKC-area fan Jonathan Keepers (August 26, 2024) was active in the Historical Miniature Gaming Society. He was a founding member of Darkmoore and the Players Guild of Central Oklahoma, and was Gaming Chair for SoonerCon 1 in 1986.

James Darren (September 2, 2024) had a career ranging from teen crooner (“Goodbye Cruel World”) and heartthrob (Gidget) to TV (The Time Tunnel, TJ Hooker, DS9).

            University of Oklahoma professor Stewart Ryan (September 7, 2024) taught there for 35 years, but had a famous alter ego. As the flamboyant Dr Indestructo, Ryan performed over 500 science shows in the region.  A couple of those appearances were at SoonerCon 1 in 1986 and SoonerCon 3 in 1987.  “Physics can be phun!”

Actor James Earl Jones (September 9, 2024) won three Tony Awards, a Golden Globe, a Grammy, and an Oscar. He lent his gravitas to such pop-culture staples as Dr Strangelove, the Star Wars realm, The Lion King, Sesame Street, Roots, and The Simpsons. “This … is … CNN. And Obi-Wan lied.”

            Actor Chad McQueen (September 11, 2024), son of Steve McQueen, was a race-car driver, at age 12 winning his class at the World Mini Grand Prix. His most famous film role was as Dutch in the Karate Kid movies.

            Musician and singer Tito Jackson (September 15, 2024) performed solo and with his brothers in the Jackson 5.  He had recently moved to Claremore, OK.

            Singer-songwriter J.D. Souther (September 17, 2024) wrote and co-wrote hits for the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and others, including “Best of My Love” and “Heartache Tonight.”

            Actor John Ashton (September 26, 2024) was best known as John Taggart in the first two Beverly Hills Cop films.

British actress and later Dame Maggie Smith (September 27, 2024) won two Oscars, four Emmys, and many other accolades. Among her genre appearances are Clash of the Titans, Hook, and as Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. Also in a TV show called Downton Abbey.

Kris Kristofferson (September 28, 2024) was a pioneer of music’s “outlaw country” movement. Among his songs made hits by others are “For the Good Times,” “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” As an actor he appeared in 1975’s A Star Is Born and the Blade films.

Actor Ron Ely (September 29, 2024) fielded dozens of roles, but is widely known for playing the title characters in the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze and the 1967-68 series Tarzan.

Performer Ken Page (September 30, 2024) appeared on Broadway in such vehicles as The Wiz and Cats. He voiced video games. For some, his greatest legacy is his role as Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Actor John Lassell (October 4, 2024) is remembered mainly for his role as Dr. Peter Guthrie in 25 episodes of ABC’s Dark Shadows.

            Computer scientist Ward Christensen (October 11, 2024) helped shape the world by building a cassette-based OS, inventing the XMODEM file-transfer protocol, and co-founding the first online BBS.

Bassist Phil Lesh (October 24, 2024)  helped found the Grateful Dead, and was notable for his six-string bass-guitar stylings.

TV writer-producer Jeri Taylor (October 24, 2024) wrote for several series before discovering her legacy with Star Trek: TNG and Voyager, as well as three Trek novels.

Actress Teri Garr (October 29, 2024) was the ditzy blonde everyone wanted to help out (and perhaps steal a roll in the hay). She claimed Star Trek’s “Assignment: Earth” was her first big speaking role. She appeared all over the place, notably in Oh God, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Young Frankenstein.

Artist Greg Hildebrandt (October 31, 2024) and his twin brother Tim (d 2006) created their own world of fantasy and sci-fi with their illos for several Lord of the Rings calendars, The Sword of Shannara, Magic: The Gathering, and Harry Potter. Perhaps their most recognizable work is the 1977 poster for Star Wars.

Musician-composer Quincy Jones (November 3, 2024) won 28 Grammys among other awards. Beginning with jazz, he worked in many branches of music. Among his film scores are In Cold Blood, They Call Me Mister Tibbs!, The Wiz, and The Color Purple.

            Voice actor Elwood Hughes Edwards Jr. (November 5, 2024) worked in radio and TV, but is most known because his voice was used by AOL to announce “You’ve got mail.”

            Guitarist Vic Flick (November 15, 2024) was a studio musician on many platters, but entered pop-culture immortality when he played the guitar riff for Monty Norman’s “James Bond Theme.”

            Restaurateur-writer Alice Brock (November 21, 2024) became famous through Arlo Guthrie’s 1967 song “Alice’s Restaurant.”

Smooth-talking game-show host Chuck Woolery (November 23, 2024) is known for stints on Love Connection, Wheel of Fortune, and the kids’ series New Zoo Revue.

Writer Barbara Taylor Bradford (November 24, 2024) is known for dozens of popular novels and several book series, usually involving inexperienced women triumphing over challenges through inner strength and resolve.

Actor Earl Holliman (November 25, 2024) appeared in many Westerns and other TV series including Twilight Zone, Murder She Wrote, and a co-starring role on Police Woman.

Filmmaker Jim Abrahams (November 26, 2024) is known for writing or directing such modern comedy hits as the Hot Shots! series, the Naked Gun series, and Airplane!

Actor Thom Christopher (December 5, 2024) played lots of soap-opera roles, mostly villainous. But he also played half-man, half-avian Hawk on TV’s Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century.

            Engineer and computer scientist Donald Bitzer (December 10, 2024) was the father of PLATO, the first system that combined touchscreens and graphics. He was co-inventor of the flat plasma display screen, in 1964.

Actor Michael Cole (December 10, 2024) is mostly known for his role as an undercover cop on ABC’s The Mod Squad.

            Singer Anita Bryant (December 16, 2024), Miss Oklahoma 1958, earned a lot of notoriety in the 1970s with her vigorous anti-gay proclamations.

Record producer Richard Perry (December 24, 2024) is known for shepherding such acts as Carly Simon, Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, and Harry Nilsson.

TV writer-director-producer Britt Allcroft (December 25, 2024) helped create or develop Shining Time Station and Thomas the Tank Engine, among other projects.

Olivia Hussey (December 27, 2024) voiced several Star Wars videogames and performed on stage. She played Norman Bates’ mom in Psycho IV. But she won hearts worldwide as Juliet in Zeffirelli’s 1968 Romeo and Juliet.

The influence of Jimmy Carter (December 29, 2024) went far beyond his one term as US president. He served in diplomatic roles and spent decades serving “the least of these” through the Carter Center, teaching Sunday school, and building homes with habitat for Humanity.

Actress-singer Linda Lavin (December 29, 2024) co-starred in TV’s Rhoda and had her own sitcom, Alice (1976-85), among many other roles of note. She had a supporting role in the Broadway musical It’s a Bird It’s a Plane It’s Superman!

Singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow (January 7, 2025) found fame as one of Peter, Paul & Mary. He co-wrote such notable songs as “Torn Between Two Lovers,” “Day Is Done,” and “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

Singer Sam Moore (January 10, 2025) was half of Sam & Dave, with whom he had many hits, including “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and “Soul Man.”

Director Jeannot Szwarc (January 14, 2025) helmed all kinds of films, including such genre offerings as Santa Claus: The Movie, Somewhere in Time, and Supergirl.

Sports broadcaster Bob Eucker (January 16, 2025) was called “Mr. Baseball” by Johnny Carson. He appeared in a few TV and film roles, and hosted several sports-blooper shows.

Filmmaker David Lynch (January 16, 2025) wrote and directed so far outside the box that you couldn’t afford the postage. Among his most stunning or mind-bending works are Twin Peaks, Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and 1984’s Dune.

Writer-cartoonist Jules Feiffer (January 17, 2025) won a Pulitzer Prize, an Oscar for an animated short, and produced dozens of books, including the fine 1965 The Great Comic Book Heroes.  His play Little Murders became a 1971 film.

OK disc jockey Dale Wehba (January 17, 2025) began his career with a phone interview with Elvis at the star’s German army station, by claiming to be president of RCA Records. He spun platters at several stations, including WKY and KOMA in OKC, and is credited as “the man who introduced rock ‘n’ roll to Oklahoma City.”

Actress-singer Marianne Faithfull (January 30, 2025) had her biggest hit with the 1964 “As Tears Go By.”

Actor Tony Roberts (February 7, 2025) appeared in many TV and film roles, including six films for Woody Allen. He also appeared in many stage roles on and off Broadway.

Brent Douglas (February 8, 2025) was a voice on Tulsa’s KMOD for a quarter century, usually with partner Phil Stone. Douglas is most notorious as the voice of prank caller Roy D. Mercer.

Writer of “comedy dramas” Tom Robbins (February 9, 2025) is known for Jitterbug Perfume and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, among others.

Gene Hackman (February 18, 2025) won two Oscars and appeared in many TV and film roles, including the blind hermit in Young Frankenstein. But to genre fans he’ll always shine as the greatest criminal mind of our time, Lex Luthor, in three Christopher Reeve Superman movies.

Secret Service agent Clint Hill (February 21, 2025) became known for running into the line of fire and onto the back of JFK’s car on November 22, 1963. He wrote several books about his White House experiences.

Actress Lynne Marie Stewart (February 21, 2025) was also known as Miss Yvonne, “the Most Beautiful Woman in Puppet Land,” on The Pee-wee Herman Show and Pee-wee’s Playhouse. She also appeared in film (American Graffiti) and TV (M*A*S*H).

Balladeer Roberta Flack (February 24, 2025) charmed listeners with a smooth, suggestive alto. She gained a lot of radio play with “Where Is the Love,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” and “Killing Me Softly with His Song.”

Actress Michelle Trachtenberg (February 26, 2025) began in showbiz at age three. She appeared in several projects for Nickelodeon before starring in the 1996 Harriet the Spy. From 2000-2003 she appeared as Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Writer Joseph Wambaugh (February 28, 2025) was best known for his books about cop life, both fictional and nonfictional.

Singer-songwriter Joey Molland (March 1, 2025) is best known as a member of Badfinger. He also played on albums by John Lennon and George Harrison.

            Voice actor George Lowe (March 2, 2025) appeared on several videogames and series, but is most famous as the voice of Space Ghost 1994-2008 on Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

Among the most recognizable work of auto customizer Gene Winfield (March 4, 2025) are the Galileo full-sized shuttle for Star Trek TOS, the Piranha used on The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and the spinners (25 of them) in 1982’s Blade Runner.

            Tulsa-born actress Pamela Bach (March 5, 2025) appeared in Baywatch, TJ Hooker, Superboy, and soap operas.

Bruce Glover (March 12, 2025) played assassin Mr. Wint in Diamonds Are Forever and appeared in Chinatown and many other roles. He was also the father of Crispin Glover.

John Frederick Peck (March 15, 2025), known as The Mad Peck, was an American underground cartoonist, rock-poster artist, and disc jockey. He manipulated clip art, drew comix, and was a big influence on countercultural art in the Sixties and Seventies. For a while he had a strip running in Creem.

Fan Laura Ferguson (March 20, 2025), widow of OKC police officer and fellow fan Mike, attended several Soonercons, sometimes in Trek regalia. IRL she served others for over fifty years as an LPN.

Boxer, businessman, and born-again Christian George Foreman (March 21, 2025) won a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. He was twice heavyweight champion, and in 1994 introduced the George Foreman Grill.

Actor Richard Chamberlain (March 29, 2025) became a heartthrob as the star of the 1961-66 series Dr. Kildare. He later earned the sobriquet “King of the Miniseries” after appearing in Shōgun, Centennial, and The Thorn Birds. He swashbuckled as Aramis in three films based on the Three Musketeers, and voiced Highfather in the direct-to-video film Justice League: Gods and Monsters.

Herman Meinders (March 30, 2025) of Oklahoma City founded American Floral Services, a network for delivery worldwide. He supported OKC and Oklahoma City University, where he funded the school of business named for him. He donated his Diamond H Ranch to the Boy Scouts’ Last Frontier Council.

Actress Patty Maloney (March 31, 2025) appeared on Voyager, but is also noted as Lumpy in the Star Wars Holiday Special, Honk on Far Out Space Nuts, and Tina the robot on Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century.

Betty Webb (March 31, 2025) was one of the WWII code breakers who helped crack Germany’s Enigma cipher, and was awarded an MBE in 2015.

Method actor Val Kilmer (April 1, 2025) began his career on stage, but moved into film and became “the most unsung leading man of his generation,” according to Roger Ebert. Films included Tombstone, The Doors, The Prince of Egypt (as Moses and God), Top Gun, and Batman Forever.

Jay North (April 6, 2025) did voice acting for The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, and guest-starred on many shows including The Lone Ranger and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., but he’ll be forever first remembered as Dennis the Menace in the 1959-63 CBS series.

English actress-writer Jean Marsh (April 13, 2025) appeared in properties ranging from The Twilight Zone and Return to Oz to Willow and three different roles on Doctor Who. She won an acting Emmy for Upstairs, Downstairs, which she also co-created.

            Radio DJ, TV producer, and game-show host Wink Martindale (April 15, 2025) began his media career as host of Dance Party in Memphis, where his buddy Elvis Presley performed. He hosted several shows, most famously Tic-Tac-Dough from 1977 to 1985.

            Ed Smylie of  NASA (April 21, 2025) may have had his finest hour when his ideas helped save the Apollo 13 crew by kludging an air-recycling system with cardboard, plastic bags, and duct tape.

Lulu Roman (April 23, 2025) started her career for Jack Ruby as “the World’s Biggest Go-Go Dancer.” She sang and did comedy, most notably in a brief stint on Hee Haw.

            Comedienne Ruth Buzzi (May 1, 2025) was a cast member on several TV shows before becoming the only featured player to appear on every episode of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, 1986-73. Among her hundreds of other appearances were voice roles including Nose Marie in Hanna-Barbera’s Pound Puppies and as Mama Bear in the Berenstain Bears series.

            Comic-book artist Jackson Guice (May 1, 2025) worked on headline titles like The Flash and Birds of Prey and many other titles. In the 1990s he was in on DC’s Death of Superman storyline and contributed to Superman: The Wedding Album.

Big tough actor Joe Don Baker (May 7, 2025) hit with a splash as Sheriff Buford Pusser in 1973’s Walking Tall.  He also appeared in The Natural, Cape Fear, and in differing roles in the Bond films GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The Living Daylights.

            Screenwriter-director Robert Benton (May 11, 2025) won Oscars for his work on Places in the Heart and Kramer vs. Kramer. He also directed 1998’s Twilight and contributed to the writing of Superman: The Movie.

Composer-lyricist Charles Strouse (May 15, 2025) worked on the musicals It’s a Bird It’s a Plane It’s Superman, Annie, Applause, and Bye Bye Birdie. He co-wrote the title song for TV’s All in the Family, “Those Were the Days.”

Songwriter Roger Nichols (May 17, 2025) co-wrote several hits, including “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “Out in the Country” for Three Dog Night, and “We’ve Only Just Begun,” a song which began life as a bank-commercial jingle.

George Wendt (May 20, 2025) is best known as Norm on Cheers, but he played varying roles in other enterprises like the films Airplane II and Dreamscape, and TV ventures including Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Simpsons, and The New Twilight Zone.

Writer of comics, videogames, novels, TV, and film Peter David (May 24, 2025)  worked on The Incredible Hulk and Star Trek for Marvel; Supergirl and Aquaman for DC; and a slew of other inventive, character-driven projects.

Guitarist-songwriter Rick Derringer (May 26, 2025) started out with the McCoys’ “Hang on Sloopy,” worked with Edgar Winter and Steely Dan, and had a hit of his own with 1973’s “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo.”

            Actor Ed Gale (May 27, 2025) debuted as the title character of 1986’s Howard the Duck. He also appeared in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Spaceballs. He’s best known as the physical performer of Chucky in Child’s Play, Child’s Play 2, and Bride of Chucky.

Actress Loretta Swit (May 30, 2025) appeared in many plays and guested on many series, but is overwhelmingly remembered as Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan 1972-83 in M*A*S*H.

These people and things impacted the pop-culture realm, and thus the whole world.  Thanks for reflecting on some of the folks who went before.