Dr. Dre's Son Found Dead R.I.P.

Andre Young Jr. was discovered in his Woodland Hills, CA, home Saturday morning, Aug. 23.


Andre Young Jr., the son of renowned rapper and hip-hop producer Dr. Dre, a.k.a. Andre Young Sr., was found dead at his Woodland Hills, CA, home Saturday morning. He was 20 years old.

According to reports, the Los Angeles County Coroner has confirmed the death, stating Young was unresponsive when discovered by his mother around 10 A.M., nearly five hours after he arrived home from a night out. The cause of death has yet-to-be determined; results from a toxicology test are pending.

Young Sr., a founding member of N.W.A. and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment who is working on his new record, entitled Detox, has yet to comment on the death.

R.I.P.

Sho’nuff has passed away:

Character actor Julius Carry died Aug. 19 in Los Angeles of pancreatic cancer. He was 56.Carry appeared in more than 100 guest roles including “Hill Street Blues,” “Jag,” “Spin City” and “Moesha.”

He also appeared as the villain Sho’nuff in the cult pic “The Last Dragon.” Other feature credits included “The New Guy,” “Moving,” “World Gone Wild,” “The Man With The Red Shoe” and “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.” Born in Chicago, his first screen credit was in “Disco Godfather.” Carry is survived by his wife Naomi.

Also Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones passed as well:

Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a longtime member of Congress and most recently a stalwart supporter of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, died today just after 6 p.m. Her hometown paper, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, reported earlier that the police found her unconscious in her car on Tuesday night, after seeing it weave erratically. She was seeking her sixth term in Congress. And she was a prominent member of the Congressional Black Caucus as well as a recent co-chairwoman of the Ethics Committee, which she helped to rebuild after a stormy period when the Foley page scandal rocked the House of Representatives.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to their family and friends.

R.I.P: LeRoi Moore

“LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. Moore had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program.”

Our thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends. R.I.P.

RPM Breaking News: Pioneering musician Isaac Hayes dead at 65

Singer found unresponsive on floor near home treadmill

Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards, died Sunday, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said. He was 65.

A family member found Hayes unresponsive near a treadmill and he was pronounced dead about an hour later at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, according to the sheriff's office. The cause of death was not immediately known.

In the early 1970s, Hayes laid the groundwork for disco, for what became known as urban-contemporary music and for romantic crooners like Barry White. And he was rapping before there was rap.

His career hit another high in 1997 when he became the voice of Chef, the sensible school cook and devoted ladies man on the animated TV show "South Park."

The album "Hot Buttered Soul" made Hayes a star in 1969. His shaven head, gold chains and sunglasses gave him a compelling visual image.

"Hot Buttered Soul" was groundbreaking in several ways: He sang in a "cool" style unlike the usual histrionics of big-time soul singers. He prefaced the song with "raps," and the numbers ran longer than three minutes with lush arrangements.

"Jocks would play it at night," Hayes recalled in a 1999 Associated Press interview. "They could go to the bathroom, they could get a sandwich, or whatever."

Next came "Theme From Shaft," a No. 1 hit in 1971 from the film "Shaft" starring Richard Roundtree.

"That was like the shot heard round the world," Hayes said in the 1999 interview.

At the Oscar ceremony in 1972, Hayes performed the song wearing an eye-popping amount of gold and received a standing ovation. TV Guide later chose it as No. 18 in its list of television's 25 most memorable moments. He won an Academy Award for the song and was nominated for another one for the score. The song and score also won him two Grammys.

"The rappers have gone in and created a lot of hit music based upon my influence," he said. "And they'll tell you if you ask."

Hayes was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

"I knew nothing about the business, or trends and things like that," he said. "I think it was a matter of timing. I didn't know what was unfolding."

It all started at Stax
A self-taught musician, he was hired in 1964 by Stax Records of Memphis as a backup pianist, working as a session musician for Otis Redding and others. He also played saxophone.

He began writing songs, establishing a songwriting partnership with David Porter, and in the 1960s they wrote such hits for Sam and Dave as "Hold On, I'm Coming" and "Soul Man."

All this led to his recording contract.

In 1972, he won another Grammy for his album "Black Moses" and earned a nickname he reluctantly embraced. Hayes composed film scores for "Tough Guys" and "Truck Turner" besides "Shaft." He also did the song "Two Cool Guys" on the "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" movie soundtrack in 1996.

Additionally, he was the voice of Nickelodeon's "Nick at Nite" and had radio shows in New York City (1996 to 2002) and then in Memphis.

He was in several movies, including "It Could Happen to You" with Nicolas Cage, "Ninth Street" with Martin Sheen, "Reindeer Games" starring Ben Affleck and the blaxploitation parody "I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka."

In the 1999 interview, Hayes described the South Park cook as "a person that speaks his mind; he's sensitive enough to care for children; he's wise enough to not be put into the 'whack' category like everybody else in town -- and he l-o-o-o-o-ves the ladies."

But Hayes angrily quit the show in 2006 after an episode mocked his Scientology religion. "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," he said.

Co-creator Matt Stone responded that Hayes "has no problem -- and he's cashed plenty of checks -- with our show making fun of Christians." A subsequent episode of the show seemingly killed off the Chef character.

Hayes was born in 1942 in a tin shack in Covington, Tenn., about 40 miles north of Memphis. He was raised by his maternal grandparents after his mother died and his father took off when he was 1 1/2. The family moved to Memphis when he was 6.

Hayes wanted to be a doctor, but got redirected when he won a talent contest in ninth grade by singing Nat King Cole's "Looking Back."

He held down various low-paying jobs, including shining shoes on the legendary Beale Street in Memphis. He also played gigs in rural Southern juke joints where at times he had to hit the floor because someone began shooting.

RPM Breaking News: Comedian, South Sider Bernie Mac dies at 50

"The world just got a litttle less funny," said Oscar winner George Clooney Saturday, learning of the death of his friend and former co-star Bernie Mac.

Clooney -- who co-starred with Mac in "Ocean's Eleven" and its two sequels -- spoke for many in Hollywood when he added: "He will be dearly missed." Mac, 50, whose real name was Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital Saturday from complications related to his battle with pneumonia. While the comedian and actor did suffer from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, his publicist Danica Smith said Mac's condition had been in remission since 2005 and his death was unrelated to that disease.

Along with Mac's legion of Chicago fans and many friends, the popular performer's death shocked his colleagues and associates in Hollywood.

"I'm just so shocked and sad today," said veteran comedian and actor Carl Reiner, who co-starred in the three "Ocean's" films with the Chicago native.

"It really hasn't sunk in. I was under the impression Bernie was improving and was going to pull through this," Reiner told the Sun-Times. "It's a terrible loss. Bernie was such a bigger-than-life personality. Even on the set of the 'Ocean's' pictures -- filled with nothing but big stars -- he was a huge presence. That says something."

"Plus, he was totally beloved by everyone -- from the biggest stars to the most junior crew members. And Bernie always seemed to know everyone's name, too." Reached at the Bud Billiken Parade Saturday, Mac's fellow "Original Kings of Comedy" colleague Steve Harvey also voiced shock.

"There is a hole in the ozone today," said Harvey. "I'm just numb. I'm totally stunned and very sad." Over the years, Mac had appeared in the parade, an important annual event for the city's African-American community -- and in his honor, Saturday's Bud Billiken Parade was dedicated to the comedian's memory.

Mac was born and raised on Chicago's South Side by his grandparents and his single mother, Mary, who died when he was 16. He went on to attend Chicago Vocational Career Academy, where he quickly gained a reputation as a natural stand-up comic -- performing his improv sketches for classmates and for kids in his neighborhood.

Yet, it would be more than a decade before Mac's stand-up comedy would launch his career in a major way.

Throughout much of his 20s, the budding comic worked as a furniture mover, UPS agent and delivery sales representative for Wonder Bread, to make a living for himself and his family. While performing at Chicago's Cotton Club, music producer Carolyn Albritton first saw Mac when she hosted an open-mic night.

"From very early on, I thought he was destined for success," Albritton, who became his first manager, told the Associated Press Saturday.

In a Sun-Times interview last year, Mac himself said he believed his tenacity made him a "stronger, better comedian and actor. I just never, ever considered giving up -- even when it looked like I'd never make it big in this business -- when people told me I shouldn't get my hopes up," he said.

The performer credited his wife and other family members -- plus the "basic good values" given him by his mother and grandmother -- as providing him with the "kind of foundation" inspiring him to keep "plugging away." Mac's first big break came in 1990 when he won the Miller Lite comedy search -- leading to popular shows like HBO's "Def Comedy Jam," roles in films like Damon Wayans' "Mo' Money," and an appearance in Spike Lee's "Get on the Bus," in 1996.

Along with the "Ocean's" films, Mac also played key roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," and "Transformers." But Mac told the Sun-Times in 2007: "When it's all said and done, I think I'll be remembered most for 'The Bernie Mac Show.' That was such a big part of my life. It said so many good things to so many people about what's important about family...It's something that I'm so very proud of." The show, which aired on the Fox network from 2001-2006, was a hit with audiences and critics alike. Mac was twice nominated for both Emmy and Golden Globe awards and won four NAACP Image Awards for the series, which itself was honored with the presitigious Peabody Award.

In a statement Saturday, Fox Broadcasting Company management expressed sadness, calling Mac "a gifted talent whose comedy came from an authentic and highly personal place. He was a tremendous live performer and a wonderful actor." According to his daughter, Je'Niece Childress, the man Mac played on his TV show was very true to life. "He was the king of his household," Childress said Saturday, adding her dad was "a loving grandfather" to her daughter, his only grandchild.

According to Larry Wilmore, executive producer and creator of "The Bernie Mac Show," the entertainer's lasting legacy may be "Bernie's ability to inspire others in show business, and his ability to cross over and take Def Comedy Jam mainstream ‹ to a wider audience. He was always so popular with college audiences of all kinds." Besides his daughter, Mac is survived by his wife, Rhonda, whom he married in 1977; and a granddaughter, Jasmine.

Rumors Prior to Mac's Death?

Rumors that Bernie Mac had died were persistent throughout his hospitalization. Mac's publicist, Danica Smith, issued a statement on August 4, 2008, denying that the popular comedian had passed away. Smith's statement said that Mac was "responding well to treatment and will be released soon."² A family source reportedly called Bernie Mac's condition "very, very critical" after his hospitalization.³