notable deaths in june 2022
June 28, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 28, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Dennis Egan, 75
(March 3, 1947 – June 28, 2022)
American broadcaster (KINY) and politician.
Cause of death: unknown.
Egan was appointed to the Senate in 2009 by then-Gov. Sarah Palin after Democrats rejected two earlier nominees. He served until 2018.
He stated at the time that he would not run for office again owing to severe vertigo and multiple sclerosis issues. Jesse Kiehl, who still holds the Juneau state Senate seat, took over as his chief of staff.
He was born in 1947 and spent the majority of his childhood in Juneau, graduating from Juneau-Douglas High School in 1965.
After serving in the United States Army and the National Guard, he returned to Juneau to work at KINY-AM, a local radio station that he ultimately purchased.
He began anchoring the local bulletin-board radio show "Problem Corner" in 1980 and continued to do so until 2010. He was elected to the Municipal Assembly and served as mayor from 1995 to 2000.
Egan was a long-time broadcaster who presented the "Problem Corner" show on Juneau radio station KINY, which broke the news of his death. In 1990, Dennis Egan was selected Alaska Broadcaster of the Year. He was inducted into the Alaska Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2001 and served on the Alaska Broadcasters Association's board of directors.
June 27, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Marlin Oliver Briscoe, 76
(September 10, 1945 – June 27, 2022)
Former American football player
(Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos).
Cause of death: pneumonia.
Briscoe, 76, passed away from pneumonia at a hospital in Norwalk, California, according to his daughter Angela. Due to problems with his legs' circulation, he was admitted to the hospital.
Before being selected by the Denver Broncos as a cornerback in the 14th round of the 1968 NFL Draft, Briscoe, an Omaha, Nebraska native, was a standout quarterback at Omaha University. If he couldn't get a quarterback tryout, Briscoe informed the squad he would go back home and become a teacher.
The 5-foot-10 dynamo known as "The Magician" joined the starting lineup on October 6 after Denver consented to an audition. During the season, Briscoe started five games. After throwing for 1,589 yards and 14 touchdowns and running for 308 yards and three more, he finished as the runner-up for AFL rookie of the year.
He requested to be released because Denver refused to allow him to compete for the quarterback position in 1969. He played with the Buffalo Bills, where he was a Pro Bowl receiver, and the Miami Dolphins, where he won two Super Bowls.
He played receiver for the Dolphins squad that had a flawless season in 1972. 2016 saw the induction of Briscoe into the College Football Hall of Fame.
June 26, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Mary Mara, 61
(September 21, 1960 – June 26, 2022)
American actress.
Cause of death: drowned.
According to state police, actress Mary Mara drowned in an Upstate New York river. Police responding to a complaint of a possible drowning discovered the 61-year-corpse old's in the St. Lawrence River soon after 10 a.m.
Sunday by officers reacting to a report of a possible drowning, according to a New York State Police statement. According to state police, Mara's corpse revealed no evidence of foul play and was transferred to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.
Mara, born on September 21, 1960, in Syracuse, New York, attended San Francisco State University and Yale School of Drama and formed a theater group in the Bay Area. Her career in cinema, television, and theater spans over three decades.
The actress appeared in several series, including NYPD Blue, Criminal Minds, Nash Bridges, Prom Night, Law & Order, Stranger Inside, Ray Donovan, Indictment: The McMartin Trial, Star Trek: Enterprise, Lost, Dexter, and Shameless, as well as General Hospital, Judging Amy, and The West Wing.
Mara was most recognized for her role as Loretta Sweet, a compassionate, down-and-out sex worker and single mother in the medical drama ER.
June 25, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 24, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 23, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 22, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Tony Siragusa, 55
(May 14, 1967 – June 22, 2022),
Former NFL defensive tackle and television host.
Cause of death: unknown.
Former teammate Jamal Lewis said that Tony Siragusa, a former NFL defensive lineman, has passed away. As an undrafted free agent, Siragusa signed with the Colts in 1990.
For seven seasons, the Kenilworth, New Jersey, native played defensive lineman and nose tackle for the Colts. Between 1990 and 1996, he participated in 96 games for the team and recorded 16.5 sacks.
He began playing with the Ravens in 1997 and stayed with them through 2001. He helped his team defeat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV along with teammates Ray Lewis, Jamal Lewis, Rod Woodson, and Jamie Sharper. The Baltimore Ravens' legendary 2000 defense, led by Siragusa, affectionately nicknamed "Goose," was a critical part of the team's first Super Bowl victory that year.
As an undrafted free agent who began his 12-year career by drinking away his $1,000 signing bonus, he departed the sport as one of its distinctive characters, well-known for his irreverent sense of humor and unforgettable practical jokes.
Siragusa, a blue-collar run-stuffer, took pleasure in the fact that his most memorable play was a quarterback hit. Siragusa dislocated Rich Gannon's left shoulder and drove the Oakland Raiders quarterback into the ground during the 2000 AFC Championship Game.
After defeating the Raiders by a score of 16-3, the Ravens advanced to the Super Bowl. Up to his termination during the 2015 NFL season, Siragusa worked as a sideline reporter and analyst for Fox during NFL games.
June 21, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
James Rado, 90
(January 23, 1932 – June 21, 2022)
American actor, director, playwright and composer (co-creator of Hair), Grammy winner (1969).
Cause of death: cardiorespiratory arrest.
The iconic writer, whose successful musical gave birth to songs like Aquarius and Let the Sunshine In, died peacefully in New York City, surrounded by family. According to longtime friend and publicist Merle Frimark, the cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest.
Rado and Ragni were also working on Hair, a rock musical about hippie counterculture and the sexual revolution of the 1960s, during the 1960s. Following a brief off-Broadway run, it transferred to Broadway in 1968 and lasted for 1,800 performances.
The popularity resulted in top ten songs, a feature picture version directed by Milo Forman in 1979, and an original Broadway cast album that sold over 3 million copies. Rado won a Grammy for the best score from an original cast show record, while the original production received two Tony nominations.
A Broadway production in 2009 went on to win a Tony Award for best musical revival. Rado was recognized in the Songwriters Hall of Fame the same year. Rado had been involved in producing new Hair performances since Ragni's death in 1991, including the 11-city national tour he directed in 1994 and the 2006 CanStage production in Toronto.
Rado has been a creative consultant for the futuristic rock musical Barcode since 2011, which was developed and workshopped in a downtown Manhattan rock club in 2012.
June 20, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Caleb Swanigan, 25
(April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022)
American professional basketball player (Purdue Boilermakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings).
Cause of death: natural causes.
Swanigan was a key member of Purdue's 2016-17 team, earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors as well as first-team All-Big Ten recognition. The Portland Trail Blazers chose him 26th overall in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft, and he played three seasons in the league.
Swanigan told ESPN in 2017 that before he reached 13, he lived in five separate homeless shelters and went to 13 different schools. He was adopted by AAU coach Roosevelt Barnes in eighth grade, and he trained him through high school at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Caleb Swanigan was named Indiana Mr. Basketball, won a state championship, and was selected a McDonald's All-American when he was there. Swanigan had shattered the school's single-season records for rebounds and double-doubles by the time he departed Purdue following his sophomore season. In the year 2020, he was chosen to the Big Ten Network's All-Decade Basketball Team.
Swanigan played for the Trail Blazers twice during his three-year NBA career, as well as the Sacramento Kings.
June 19, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Tim White, 68
(March 25, 1954 – June 19, 2022)
American professional wrestling referee (WWE).
Cause of death: unknown.
Timothy Rhys White has been a part of WWE for almost two decades. When he first began working with Andre the Giant in 1985, he was a part-time referee.
He was a part of some of the most legendary WWE matchups, including The Undertaker vs. Mankind in the 1998 Hell in a Cell battle at the King of the Ring. White is well known for directing some of WWE's most memorable fights, including the iconic Hell in a Cell encounter between the Undertaker and Mankind at King of the Ring 1998.
Timothy Rhys White held the position for eleven years until a shoulder injury terminated his career on Judgement Day in 2002 during a Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Chris Jericho. White made his return at WrestleMania XX in 2004, but re-injured his shoulder during the last three counts of the bout.
June 18, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Mark Shields, 85
(May 25, 1937 – June 18, 2022)
American political journalist (PBS NewsHour, Capital Gang, Inside Washington).
Cause of death: kidney failure.
Mark Shields, a longtime PBS News analyst known for his weekly political analysis, died of kidney illness at the age of 85, according to PBS.
Before retiring in 2020, Shields provided insightful insights on the administrations of six US presidents, as well as the Persian Gulf War, the Iran-Contra scandal, and 9/11. He reigned for more than three decades.
He was a regular on CNN from 1988 until 2005, particularly as co-host of the weekly panel discussion show "Capital Gang," where he faced off against conservative co-hosts such as Robert Novak, Pat Buchanan, and Kate O'Beirne.
Shields, a native of Weymouth, Massachusetts, graduated from Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree before enlisting in the US Marine Corps. Mark Shields worked on a variety of local and national Democratic political campaigns, including Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, which he later shared with readers and viewers. In 1979, he started writing for The Washington Post, and Creators Syndicate swiftly took up his column for national distribution.
Shields wrote On the Campaign Trail, a book about the 1984 presidential campaign.
June 17, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 16, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Mike Pratt, 73
(August 4, 1948 – June 16, 2022)
Former American basketball player (Kentucky Colonels), coach and radio analyst.
Cause of death: colon cancer.
Pratt was born in Dayton, Ohio, and graduated from Meadowdale High School in 1966. From 1967 to 1970, Pratt attended the University of Kentucky, where he was a three-year letter-winner under famed coach Adolph Rupp.
Following his time with the Wildcats, he was drafted by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1970 American Basketball Association draft, where he played two seasons and averaged six points per game.
Following his playing career, he worked as an assistant coach for Lee Rose at UNC Charlotte, where he helped the 49ers reach the NCAA Final Four in 1977.
Following the 1977–78 season, Rose took the head coaching post at Purdue, and Pratt was named as his replacement. Pratt was the 49ers' coach for four seasons, collecting a 55–52 record until being fired after the 1981–82 season.
Pratt analyzed basketball games aired on the radio by the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame enshrined him in 2009.
Tyler Sanders, 18
(February 25, 2004 - June 16, 2022)
American Actor, who was known for his work in “9-1-1”and 'Fear the Walking Dea'
Cause of death: unknown.
Emmy-nominated actor in Amazon's hugely successful and popular spin-off Just Add Magic: Mystery City for the character of Leo. Tyler Sanders, who starred in "Just Add Magic: Mystery City" and had cameo appearances on "9-1-1: Lone Star" and "Fear the Walking Dead," has died.
He was 18 years old at the time. Sanders' agency stated on Friday confirming the actor's death. Tyler had been studying acting since he was ten years old, as well as improv and stand-up comedy, and he worked with dialect coaches to perfect his different dialects.
He participated in episodes of ABC's The Rookie and AMC's famous Fear the Walking Dead, among other projects, and shot a half-hour pilot alongside Leah Remini in 2017. Sanders had finished two films that had not yet been released: the action-thriller feature picture "The Price We Pay" and the thriller "short Shock!" in which he stars.
June 15, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 14, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 13, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 12, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Philip Baker Hall, 90
(September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022)
American actor (Magnolia, Zodiac, Rush Hour).
Cause of death: emphysema.
Rapper Lil Keed, whose true name was Raqhid Jevon Render and who was mentored by rapper, singer, and songwriter Young Thug (Jeffery Lamar Williams), died at the age of 24 on May 13, 2022, leaving behind his three-year-old daughter Naychur, according to his record company.
The reason for death has yet to be revealed. Lil Gotit, Keed's younger brother, was the fifth of seven children. After the loss of a close friend when he was 16, Lil Keed decided to pursue a rap career.
Lil Keed continued to emerge from Young Thug's shadow in 2019 with the release of his debut studio album, Long Live Mexico. Lil Keed was selected to the XXL Freshman Class of 2020 after releasing his second album, Trapped on Cleveland 3. Since then, he's worked on new tracks with Thug, Lil Yachty (Miles Parks McCollum), Gunna, O.T. Genasis (Odis Oliver Flores), and others.
June 11, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 10, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 9, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Julee Cruise, 65
(December 1, 1956 – June 9, 2022)
American singer ("Falling") and actress
(1990s soap opera "Twin Peaks").
Cause of death: suicide.
Julee Cruise (65), best known for her work with David Lynch, most notably on the 1990s serial drama 'Twin Peaks,' has passed away. She was 65 years. E.Grinnan, Cruise's spouse, announced her death on social media.
Cruise, who was born in Iowa, studied French horn before meeting Lynch's composer Angelo Badalamenti while working at an off-Broadway theatrical group in New York's East Village. The trio's first collaboration was the song "Mysteries of Love," which played over the closing credits of the 1985 picture Blue Velvet. Badalamenti then collaborated with Cruise to write the music for her debut album, Floating Into The Night, released in 1989.
The lyrics were written by Lynch. Some of these songs were eventually used in Twin Peaks, including an instrumental version of "Falling," which was renamed "Twin Peaks Theme" and earned Badalamenti a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
While Cindy Wilson was on sabbatical, Cruise performed as a touring member of the B-52s from 1992 until 1999. She also took part in Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra project.
June 8, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Ranan Lurie, 90
(May 26, 1932 – June 8, 2022)
Israeli-American political cartoonist and journalist.
Cause of death: natural causes.
Ranan Lurie (90), a hero of the Israeli war and a mediator who set records as the world's most widely distributed political cartoonist died in Las Vegas on June 8, 2022.
Rod Lurie, his son, announced his father's death at the institution. He began his career in the Israeli Air Force and subsequently relocated to the United States, where he established himself as the world's most widely syndicated in his field. During the height of his career,
Mr. Lurie's cartoons appeared in over 1,000 periodicals with over 100 million readers in over 100 countries, earning him a Guinness World Record in the 1980s (ever surpassed by Johnny Hart, creator of The Wizard Eid and to our era).
Lurie's first of over 12,500 cartoons appeared in the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth in 1948, when he was 16 years old and working in Irgun, an underground militia that demanded Britain redeem its decades of occupation.
Ranan Lurie merged drawing and writing into a weapon more formidable than the sword, one that represented his strong political ideas and whose aesthetics, he thought, had a greater effect than photography.
Rocky Freitas, 76
(September 7, 1945 – June 8, 2022)
American football player (Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
Cause of death: natural causes.
Rockne Crowningburg Freitas, better known as Rocky, was born in Kailua, Hawaii in September 1945. The massive offensive tackle, who stands 6ft6 and weighs 122kg, was a standout for Oregon State University.
Freitas was picked in the third round of the 1967 National Football League Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, before transferring to Oregon and the Detroit Lions a year later.
After making the All-Pro team in 1972, Freitas spent nearly a decade with the Lions, tearing down barriers on the field. Rocky, who was known for his aggressive tackling and sportsmanship on the field, went into education after hanging up his pads in 1978.
Rocky assumed high-level leadership posts in his home in Hawaii, which led to a two-decade educational career. Rocky served as chancellor of Hawaii Community College for six years until leaving in 2015 following a relocation to West Oahu.
June 7, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 6, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 5, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Trouble
(Mariel Semonte Orr), 34
(November 4, 1987 – June 5, 2022),
Atlanta-born American rapper.
Cause of death: shot.
The rapper, actual name Mariel Semonte Orr, was slain in a house invasion in Conyers, an Atlanta suburb, early Sunday morning. After Orr was shot in the chest and declared dead at the scene, authorities identified a suspect as Atlanta resident Jamichael Jones, who is wanted on suspicion of murder, home invasion, and aggravated assault.
Jones and Orr were not known to each other, according to police, although Jones was involved in a "domestic incident" with a lady Orr was seeing at the apartment.
He released his first mixtape as Trouble in 2011, the first in a series of nine mixtape releases interspersed with guest appearances from musicians such as Lupe Fiasco and Young Thug.
In 2018, Orr was signed to Mike Will Made-It's label and produced the entirety of his first album Edgewood, which includes Drake, the Weeknd, Quavo, Offset, and Fetty Wap.
Alec John Such, 70
(November 14, 1951 – June 5, 2022)
Former bassist and founding member of the iconic
US rock band Bon Jovi.
Cause of death: unknown.
New York native John Such was a seasoned figure in the burgeoning New Jersey music scene that helped birth, Bon Jovi. Before joining Jon Bon Jovi's band, John Such worked as the manager of the Hunka Bunka Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey.
He was a member of Bon Jovi during the band's peak in the 1980s. John Such left the band in 1994 and was replaced by bassist Hugh McDonald.
He was a member of 'Bon Jovi' when they released the third studio album Slippery When Wet (1986) and two years later New Jersey (1988), both of which topped the Billboard 200. He stayed with the band until 1994 when bassist Hugh McDonald took his place. In 2018, Howard Stern inducted him as one of the members of Bon Jovi into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Hugh McDonald, Richie Sambora, and Tico Torres were among those inducted.
June 4, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Veryl Switzer, 89
(August 6, 1932 – June 4, 2022)
Former American professional football player.
Cause of death: natural causes.
LVeryl Switzer, one of Kansas State's top all-around athletes, was also a trailblazer who paved the way for many who came after him since he was the first African American scholarship player to graduate from the university.
Switzer's K-State career began in 1950 when he received an athletic scholarship, and from 1951 to 1953, he earned All-America accolades in three consecutive seasons. He was a team leader in almost every statistical area, making him one of the most well-rounded athletes in school history.
In 1952 and 1953, he led the team in running and was one of the top punt returners in school history. He remains in the top ten for a career in five punt-return categories over seven decades after his final season as a Wildcat. Switzer's accomplishments were not restricted to the football field.
In 1952, he won the Big Seven Indoor Long Jump Championship and earned three letters in track and field. Switzer was the Green Bay Packers' first halfback and fourth overall pick in the 1954 NFL Draft.
He is still the highest-drafted player in school history. Switzer led the NFL in punt returns with a 13-yard average during his first season. Switzer's professional football career was cut short from 1956 to 1958 when he joined the United States Air Force as a first lieutenant.
In 1958, he returned to the gridiron with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.
June 3, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 2, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
June 1, 2022
NOTABLE deaths
Marion Barber III, 38
(June 10, 1983 – June 1, 2022)
American football player (Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears)
Cause of death: unknown.
Barber played seven years in the NFL after being drafted in the fourth round by the Cowboys in 2005, concluding his career with the Bears.
Following that, he established himself as a workhorse for them, scoring at least four touchdowns in each of his six seasons with the organization.
Police were summoned to his house. According to CBS DFW, officers in Frisco, Texas, responded to a complaint regarding a welfare check at an apartment thought to belong to Barber around 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday.
When officers came, they discovered Barber was unresponsive.
Although the cause of death is unknown, investigators do not suspect foul play was involved. Barber passed away just nine days before his 39th birthday. Barber spent six seasons with the Cowboys, from 2005 to 2010. After one season with the Chicago Bears, he retired in 2012.
In his NFL career, Barber carried for 4,780 yards and 53 touchdowns. He added six more receiving touchdowns. He was dubbed "Marion the Barbarian" and made the Pro Bowl in 2007.
