Recently in Dead Celebrities Category

Talk about coming out of left field. Tim Russert, longtime anchor of Meet The Press has died at the age of 58 from an apparent heart attack. If this was MSNBC's morbid attempt to divert attention away from its new rep as being a sexist paradise, that's really f'd up, yo.

NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58 [MSNBC.com]

It's been a while since I've posted about dead celebrities. This is mostly due to laziness, but a small part of me also didn't like seeing the "death" and "sad" tags having such prominent places in my tag cloud. (IndianJones, meanwhile, is eager to have his name ascend beyond the lower tier, but that's another story). Anyway, the breaking news is that Academy Award winning director Sydney Pollack has died at the age of 73 from cancer.

Pollack directed such classics as Tootsie and Out Of Africa, but beyond that, he was also a gifted actor, clocking in face time in Michael Clayton, Eyes Wide Shut, and Husbands and Wives, among others. The latter movie I just saw for the first time about four days ago; so as you can imagine, there's been a lot of Sydney Pollack on the brain.

For more information, click here.

Okay, I'll be honest. I didn't even know who Richard Widmark was until today, but I checked out his IMDb, and when I saw that he'd starred in a TV movie called Cold Sassy Tree, I just had to pay my respects. Further investigation shows that Cold Sassy Tree also starred the likes of Faye Dunaway and Neil Patrick Harris. SASSY INDEED!

For more information on the passing of Richard Widmark, click here.

Anthony Minghella, Oscar-winning director of the tear-jerker epics The English Patient and Cold Mountain — among others — died today from a massive surgery-related hemorrhage. He was only 54. No word on yet on funeral arrangements, but I'm sure they'll be SWEEPING (and possibly involving Juliet Binoche). For more information on this sad turn of events, click here.

Renfro? Really? Him?

Has Brad Renfro received an upgrade in the legacy department? The troubled actor, who never quite lived up to his perpetual "rising star" status, has suddenly been thrust into the upper echelon Died-Young category, joining the likes of River Phoenix, Tupac, and Janis Joplin, and it all seems to be thanks to Heath Ledger. You see, with the tragic news of the actor's passing, media outlets have been compiling lists of major, iconic stars who have died before thirty, and while Ledger certainly deserves a spot on that list, Renfro's inclusion seems dubious. Clearly, he benefited from editors' guilt. After all, how could they not include him when he died just days ago? Still, I'm not sure that his death, while sad, rocked the world the way, say, Jim Morrison's did. So enjoy the upgrade now, Ghost of Renfro, because it won't be long before the editors slowly weed you off the list (cough, Jonathan Brandis, cough).

Am I a bastard?

• Gone Before 30: Stars Who Died Young [ABC News]

We were all deeply shocked and saddened by Heath Ledger's untimely death yesterday, and while those in New York City have manifested their grief by erecting a candlelit shrine for the actor, I've paid tribute the only way I know how: with yogurt. Yes, in honor of Heath, I ordered my frozen yogurt tonight with a topping of Heath Bar Crunch. It's a small gesture, but heartfelt nonetheless.

This one is really sad. Well, they're all sad, but this death seems particularly tragic. Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead in "a possible drug-related death" today in Manhattan. This makes him the second actor in the past week to die young (after Brad Renfro). I feel bad for his kid.

• Heath Ledger Found Dead in NYC [AP via Yahoo News]

According to TMZ.com, former child star Brad Renfro was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment today. He was 25.

OH WELL. (Said sadly, not sarcastically)

"Bloody good time that Everest was!"

Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to summit Mt. Everest, died today at the age of 88. I must admit that I feel partially responsible. You see, earlier this morning, I happened to randomly look at a Wikipedia page on famous explorers, and when I read that Sir Edmund Hillary was still alive, I thought to myself, "Really? He's still kicking around? Him?" I think at that point God must have been like, "Shit, you're right." DEAD.

Sorry!

Hey, the good news is that he lived a long and exciting life, but if you ask me, after you climb Mt. Everest, everything else is just DOWNHILL FROM THERE! (Rimshot!!!)

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Sooooo Pakistan is on the verge of total chaos in the wake of Benazir Bhutto's tragic assassination, but fear not! According to CNN, it's time for parties! Yes, in an unfortunately juxtaposed bit of luck, the webmaster at CNN.com placed the headline "Time for Resolutions, Parties" smack in the middle of their Bhutto coverage, creating a somewhat discordant tone on their page. As important as it is for us to know about New Year's Live With Anderson Cooper, something tells me a more effective location for this promo would be, you know, NOT under the photo of a dead woman.

"I'm gentle."

Dan Fogelberg, singer of one of my favorite soft-rock weepies, "Same Old Lang Syne," has died at 56 from cancer. Great. ANOTHER reason to cry at his music. More info here.

And for those of you unfamiliar with Fogelberg's brand of so-sad-you-want-to-curl-up-in-a-ball-and-sob music, here's a strange little YouTube tribute to his album artwork (not to mention his many, many beards) set to the tune of his aforementioned holiday classic. [YouTube]