Remembering The Passed

Remembering George Olah

George Olah was the Hungarian chemist born in prewar Budapest, who was awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His work in organic chemistry involved the creation of carbocations. Normally organic compounds are stable and nonionic, but Dr. Olah found that when treated with extremely strong acids - superacids - they could form reactive ionic compounds and this may have implications for the generation of new forms of energy from carbon compounds. Dr. Olah left Hungary after the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 and he ultimately settled in California at USC, where most of his groundbreaking work was done.

Remembering Coco the Dachshund, Erin Moran, Robert Pirsig, Harry Huskey, Bruce Langhorne

Coco the Dachshund was the irrepressible Franklin Family dog. She was friendly and snuggly and would chase the mailman, but only to be with him or her as they delivered the mail. Erin Moran was one of the most familiar child actresses of the 1970’s. She starred as Joanie Cunningham on “Happy Days” (1974-1984) and the short-lived “Joanie Loves Chachi” (1982-1983). Robert Pirsig was the author of the cult classic Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974), which sold over five million copies worldwide. Harry Huskey was the last of the World War II generation of scientists working on the computer. He worked with Alan Turing and built what some believe was the first personal computer. Bruce Langhorne was the American folk musician who worked with Bob Dylan in the early 1960’s in Greenwich Village, and is thought to be the model for the song “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

Remembering Sylvia Moy, Leonard Reiffel, Clifton James, Emma Morano, Annabelle Courtney

Sylvia Moy was the Motown singer-turned- songwriter who penned some of the biggest hits for Stevie Wonder. She also wrote hits for Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the Isley Brothers. Leonard Reiffel was the physicist who worked with Enrico Fermi and helped plan the Apollo Moon project for NASA. He also invented the telestrator. Clifton James was the classically trained actor who specialized in playing Southern sheriffs although he was not a Southerner. Emma Morano was the last surviving person to be born in the 1800’s. Annabelle Courtney was the Iowa wife and mother who loved to cook and dance, and learned to swim when she was 50.

Remembering Robert Taylor, Dan Rooney, J. Geils, Brian Matthew

Robert Taylor is largely unknown to the public but his work at ARPA (Advanced Research Project Agency) and at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) was instrumental in the development of the Internet and the personal computer. He envisioned the computer and Internet as tools for long distance communication before others realized it, and one of the people he influenced was Steve Jobs. Dan Rooney was the legendary owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was responsible for the Rooney Rule that advanced the causes of minority coaches and executives in the NFL. J. Geils was the guitarist for the J. Geils Band, a blues band turned rock and roll in the 1970’s. Brian Matthew was the long-time host of two popular radio programs on the BBC, “Saturday Club” and “Sounds of the Sixties”.

Remembering Don Rickles, Lonnie Brooks, Rose Hamlin, Joe Harris

Don Rickles was the consummate insult comedian. Nobody was immune from his caustic barbs, which were delivered sharply - but in jest - on television, movies and nightclub acts. His greatest performance was at the 1985 Inaugural Gala for Ronald Reagan at the Washington D.C Convention Center. Lonnie Brooks was the Chicago blues guitarist who had a hit recording of the classic “Sweet Home Chicago.” Rose Hamlin was a one-hit wonder as the lead singer of Rosie and the Originals. Their song “Angel Baby” went to #5 in the country in 1961 and has been covered by everyone from John Lennon to Linda Ronstadt. Joe Harris was the illustrator who created several iconic characters, most notably the Trix Rabbit and Underdog.

Remembering Babi Yar and Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Alexei Abrikosov

In 1961 the esteemed Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko wrote the poem Babi Yar. The poem was a memorial to the 33,771 Jews who were murdered in a two-day period in a forest outside of Kiev in 1941 by the Nazis with help from a complicit Ukrainian force. The massacre had long been covered up by Soviet officials, and Yevtushenko’s poem brought it to the world’s attention. Yevtushenko became an international hero and was on the cover of Time magazine in1962. Alexei Abrikosov was a co-winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in superconductivity. His work at Argonne National Laboratory demonstrated a new type of superconductor that allows magnetic fields to pass through it.

Remembering Jimmy Breslin, Chuck Barris, David Rockefelller, Jerry Krause

Jimmy Breslin was the New York columnist and reporter who was legendary in and around New York City for his biting commentary and defense of the underdog. For decades he wrote for The New York Daily News, but he also appeared on television and even ran for political office. Chuck Barris was the game show producer who created such staples as “The Dating Game”, “The Newlywed Game”, and “The Gong Show”. David Rockefeller was the banker and philanthropist who represented the last of the grandchildren of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller. Jerry Krause was the general manager and scout for the Chicago Bulls who help direct the Bulls to six championships in the1990’s.

Remembering David Storey and This Sporting Life, Martin McGuinness, The Dandelion Crayola

David Storey was the British writer whose best-known work was “This Sporting Life”. He adapted the 1960 novel into a 1963 movie that was the springboard for the career of Richard Harris and remains one of the great films in British history. Martin McGuinness was the IRA leader who renounced bloodshed and became a key figure in the Northern Ireland political sharing after the Good Friday agreement in 1998. The dandelion color Crayola was a staple of crayon boxes since 1969 but is being retired in favor of new colors.

Remembering Hans Georg Dehmelt

Hans Dehmelt was the German-born physicist who won a portion of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in developing the ion trapping technique. Working out of the University of Washington, Dr. Dehmelt used magnetic fields to capture charged atoms –ions, and explore their properties. His work, and that of his fellow Nobel winners, was later used in the creation of the cesium clock and the GPS system. His findings were also important in validating some of the theories of quantum mechanics.

Remembering Sir Derek Walcott

Derek Walcott was the greatest poet to come out of the Caribbean. Born in Santa Lucia, he won the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature. His greatest work was Omeros (1990), a Caribbean transposition of the Homeric epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey. He also wrote plays and in his work he combined the classic sensibilities of his traditional British education with the rhythms of his island homeland. He is considered a national hero in Santa Lucia.