This person died in 2021 at age 99. During World War II she drove a truck delivering soap, toothpaste and candy to soldiers. She began her career in radio by saying one word on a popular comedy show. In the early 1960s she was best known as a busy freelance guest with game shows as her specialty. She had a longstanding interest in animal welfare. Her television career spanned seven decades and holds the Guinness World Record as the longest ever for a female entertainer. One of her best known roles was as Rose on the television hit “The Golden Girls”. Today’s dead celebrity is Betty White.

This episode originally published May 17, 2023

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss and includes a guest appearance from Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 61 “Dame Detective” (Angela Lansbury) and Episode 47 “Proud Mary” (Mary Tyler Moore)

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New York Times Obituary for Betty White

Betty White’s Opening Monologue on SNL in 2010

Tina Fey and Betty White ‘census’ skit on SNL

Betty White Snickers Super Bowl Commercial

Forest Service makes actress Betty White honorary ranger

Guest Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s website

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This person died in 2022 at age 83. She amassed number 1 hits, chart-topping albums, and four records that sold more than two million copies each. Her consistently benign music and initial squeaky-clean image caused many to compare her to Doris Day. More than anything else, she was likable, even beloved. For years she was a prominent advocate for cancer research, starting a foundation in her name.  She played Sandy in the musical “Grease” alongside John Travolta and had a massive hit in the 1980s with the song “Let’s Get Physical”. Today’s dead celebrity is Olivia Newton-John.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 38 “A Lovely Lady” (Florence Henderson) and Episode 32 “Hot Stuff” (Donna Summer). 

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New York Times Obituary for Olivia Newton-John

“Mystery billionaire returns auctioned Grease Jacket”

“The wild Peruvian experience that changed Olivia Newton-John’s life”

“What made Olivia Newton-John 'horrified' about ‘Let’s Get 'Physical’” and music video

Dead or Alive quiz game

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This person died in 2018 at age 87. He wrote his most famous screenplay while teaching creative writing at Princeton University. Eight of his films each grossed more than $100 million domestically. He was called the world’s greatest and most famous living screenwriter. Even so, he was an outspoken critic of the movie industry, and made headlines when he declared, “Nobody knows anything.” He wrote ‘The Princess Bride’ and ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Today’s dead celebrity is William Goldman.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 52 “Electric Vanities” (Tom Wolfe) and Episode 23  “Book Rancher” (Larry McMurtry)

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New York Times Obituary for William Goldman

“The Five Defining Lines of William Goldman” from The Ringer

Discussing “nobody knows anything” on Charlie Rose

‘The Princess Bride’ movie trailer

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

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This person died in 2022 at age 88. He was once described by his coach as “the single most devastating force in the history of the game.” He took part in the 1963 March on Washington and was seated in the front row for Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech. In 2011, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is remembered for his ability to enhance the talents of his Boston Celtics teammates even as he dominated the action, and to do it without bravado.  He holds the record for most NBA championships won with 11 titles. The trophy for the MVP of the Finals is in fact named after him. Today’s dead celebrity is Bill Russell. 

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 49 “Hammer Time” (Hank Aaron), Episode 33 “October Error” (Bill Buckner), and Episode 31 “The Greatest ” (Muhammad Ali)

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New York Times Obituary for Bill Russell

Wall Street Journal Obituary for Bill Russell

Politico Obituary for Bill Russell

“The Unparalleled Legacy of Bill Russell” from the Ringer

“Boston’s Checkered History with its Greatest Sports Icon” from CNN Opinion

ESPN’s list of Top Athletes in 20th Century

5 celebrities the late Bill Russell gave the middle finger to

Dead or Alive quiz game

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This person died in 2018 at age 82. His early passion was for football, and he played halfback at Florida State University. He was part Cherokee. He had an often turbulent career that spanned some 100 films and countless television appearances. He had a volatile temperament, but he himself projected an air of nonchalance and professed not to take his career too seriously. He was a self-mocking charmer with laugh-crinkled dark eyes, a distinctive mustache, and a hairy chest. He had box-office success with films like “Smokey and the Bandit” and “Cannonball Run”. Today’s dead celebrity is Burt Reynolds.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 55 “Pure Imagination” (Gene Wilder) and Episode 51 “Goofball Stud” (Bill Paxton)

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New York Times Obituary for Burt Reynolds

“46 years of Burt Reynolds’ Glorious Mustache” in The Washington Post

Burt’s ‘Cosmopolitan’ centerfold in 1972

Clip of Burt Reynolds vs Mark Summers on ‘The Tonight Show’

“Burt Reynolds on Toupees, Trump,...” in GQ

Dead or Alive quiz game

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This person died in 2015 at age 93. He was a physically towering British movie actor with distinguished good looks, a Shakespearean voice, and aristocratic presence. His breakthrough film was the horror movie “The Curse of Frankenstein.” Though closely associated with horror, he maintained that of his roughly 250 movie and television roles, only 15 or so had been in horror films. Even into his 70s and 80s, he could strike fear in the hearts of moviegoers. He played the treacherous light-saber-wielding villain Count Dooku in the “Star Wars” series, and the dangerously charismatic wizard Saruman in the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies. Today’s dead celebrity is Christopher Lee.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss, and features guest co-host Morgan Honaker. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 34 “Zombie Mastermind” (George Romero) and Episode 35 “Likable Villain” (Alan Rickman)

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New York Times Obituary for Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee BAFTA award

Jingle Hell song

Dead or Alive quiz game

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This person died in 2022 at age 96. She once said “I wasn’t very good at being a starlet. I didn’t want to pose for cheesecake photos and that kind of thing.” She received two Oscar nominations before the age of 25. In the mid-1950s she found herself cast as either one of two types: as she put it, “bitches on wheels and people’s mothers.” She was nominated for a Tony Award at age 83, a testament to her extraordinary stamina and range. She captured the biggest audience of her career in the 1980s and 90s, when she played the role of mystery writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher on the CBS series “Murder, She Wrote.” Today’s dead celebrity is Angela Lansbury.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 50 “Golden Rose” (Betty White) and Episode 47 “Proud Mary” (Mary Tyler Moore)

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New York Times Obituary for Angela Lansbury

Angela’s incredible speed singing in the musical “Gypsy”

Angela Lansbury’s full length fitness video

“Cozy Cup of Tea” article from the New Yorker

Clip of her first movie appearance in ‘Gaslight’ at age 17

Dead or Alive quiz game

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This person died in 2019 at age 52. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica but spent much of his childhood in Brooklyn.  In the late 1980s, the influential music producer Rick Rubin signed his group. In 1991, he had an early brush with death when he was shot in the right eye. He was born with dwarfism and stood approximately 3 feet 8 inches tall. He was a member of the Houston-based rap group the Geto Boys, who’s biggest singles were ”Mind Playing Tricks on Me“ and “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta”. Today’s dead celebrity is Bushwick Bill. 

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss and features a guest appearance from Charles Hughes. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 37 “Just a Friend” (Biz Markie) and Episode 54 “Secret Chord” (Leonard Cohen)

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New York Times Obituary for Bushwick Bill

Geto Boys’ album cover for “We Can’t Be Stopped”

Bushwick Bill’s son Young Knxw official site

“Office Space” printer scene

“Why Bushwick Bill Matters” book by Charles Hughes on Goodreads 

Dead or Alive quiz game

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This person died in 2019 at age 70. His birth name was Edward Mahoney. He was the son of a police officer, and he was headed for that career himself when he dropped out of the New York Police Academy to move to San Francisco in pursuit of rock stardom – which he found in 1978. He struggled with drugs in the early 1980s, but he staged several comebacks, and found hits later that decade. He and his family had been the focus of a reality television show on AXS TV. His hits include “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise”. Today’s dead celebrity is Eddie Money.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 21 “Florida Man” (Tom Petty) and Episode 45 “Rebel Rebel” (David Bowie)

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New York Times Obituary for Eddie Money

“Why Eddie Money Was the Patron Saint of Rock Uncool” article in Rolling Stone

History of Levittown, NY

Eddie Money Geico Commercial

Homer Simpson sings “Two Tickets”

Dead or Alive quiz game

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This person died in 2020 at age 86. Over the years he was a favorite among talk-show hosts, making at least 50 guest appearances on “The Tonight Show”. He made an art of playing characters who are “gloriously out of their depth” and gleefully self-unaware. He appeared in more than 700 films and television episodes over a half-century. He was nominated for Emmy Awards for his roles on “Modern Family” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”. He was a frequent collaborator with the director Christopher Guest with iconic performances in “Waiting for Guffman”, “Best in Show”, and “A Mighty Wind”. Today’s dead celebrity is Fred Willard.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss and features a guest appearance from Saul Austerlitz. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 39 “Super Funkhouser” (Bob Einstein) and Episode 46 “Love and OJ Jokes” (Norm Macdonald)

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New York Times Obituary for Fred Willard

12 Unforgettable Fred Willard Film and TV Appearances

Fred Willard scene from ‘Best in Show’

“Wha’ Happened?” clip from ‘A Mighty Wind’

Fred Willard ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ appearance

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.