Sadness

After a two-year-long battle with colon and liver cancer, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees died today at the age of 62. Robin had been in and out of the hospital in a couple of years, but things were sort of looking up recently when he recovered after coming out of a coma brought on by pneumonia. But a spokesperson for the Gibbs family said today that Robin's now hip shimmying with his twin brother Maurice in heaven and tickling the ears of the angels with his high-pitched velvet voice.

"The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time."

Barry Gibb is now the only living member of the Bee Gees.

This is seriously the week the disco ball stopped spinning for good. First Donna Summer and now Barry Gibb. Let's all form a prayer circle around Giorgio Moroder and Alicia Bridges.

Rest in peace, Robin Gibb. Thank you for this (I'm talking about the music AND the glamour):

via ABC News

I think I just broke the record for the most "What the....?"s shouted out at in ten seconds when I read at TMZ that the Queen of Disco Donna Summer has twirled up to heaven at the young age of 63. TMZ says that Donna was privately battling cancer and didn't want the public to know about it. None of this has been confirmed by Donna's family or rep yet.

UPDATE: Donna's family confirmed that she passed away late last night in Florida. They says that they "are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continue legacy." Many people close to Donna are as shocked everyone else. Donna was in the middle of recording a new album and as of two weeks ago she seemed fine. TMZ also says that Donna had lung cancer and believes she got it from breathing in toxic particles after the World Trade Center attack.

This is just sad and if another disco ball never spins again, I'll be okay with that. I was going to list all of Donna's hits that helped to define disco, but instead I'm going to tell you to think of all the songs you twerked your nalgas during 70s night at a gay club. Also, think of the song that they play at the end of every wedding you've ever been to. That's your list right there.

Donna is survived by her husband Bruce Sudano and her three daughters.

Rest in peace, Miss LaDonna.

Mary Kennedy, the 52-year-old estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy, was found dead at her home in Bedford, New York today. The police didn't name Mary Kennedy, but they said they're looking into a "possible unattended death" (aka a death that nobody witnessed) inside an "out building" on her property. Mary's cause of death is of course not known yet, but Radar is hearing that she committed suicide. Mary's family released this statement:

"We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her. Our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation."

Mary became a Kennedy almost 18 years ago when she married Robert and Ethel Kennedy's son Robert. They had four children together. Robert filed for divorce from Mary back in 2010, but the divorce was never finalized. Three days after Robert filed for divorce, Mary was busted for DUI.

TMZ also wants us to know that Robert F. Kennedy is currently dating Cheryl Hines. So I think I speak for all of us when I say: RUUUUUUUUN, Cheryl, RUUUUUUN. The Kennedy Curse is no joke and it's truly worse than The Hunger Games.

Attention all GOOP haters of the world, we have lost one of our own. Legendary children's book author, illustrator and King of All Wild Things (not these kind of wild things, though) Maurice Sendak passed away at 3 this morning at a hospital in Connecticut. Maurice was 83. Maurice's partner of 50 years, Eugene Glynn, passed away in 2007. They're now having a wild rumpus together up in heaven.

Children, adults and everybody in between will read Maurice's words for as long as this planet exists thanks to his books Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen and Seven Little Monsters. Maurice also drew the illustrations for dozens of books, produced TV shows and designed for several ballet and opera productions. Maurice did it all. I'll mostly remember Maurice for telling it like it is. You could always count on Maurice to give us his non-sugar-coated truth, mostly recently on The Colbert Report, which was a priceless jewel of an interview.

"I like [children] as few as far between as adults. Maybe a bit more, because I really don't like adults at all." - Maurice Sendak

Rest in peace, Maurice :(

via The Washington Post

The worst day of the week just got a whole lot worse. Meow, the 39-pound cat, who captured the hearts of America and taught The Silver Fox how to love pussy, is now up in heaven where diets do not exist and the all-you-can-eat tuna buffet is always open. Meow was put to sleep over the weekend because his heart and lungs just wouldn't let him be great. Meow was only 2 years old. Mary Martin, the director of animal shelter in Santa Fe, NM where Meow was living announced the sad news on Facebook this morning:

Dear Friends,

I am devastated to share with you that the respiratory distress that Meow was experiencing last week (the reason we did not do his weigh-in) took his life at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 5. The Shelter staff - along with all those who met Meow during his short time with us – mourn his passing. As many of you are aware, Meow began wheezing last Thursday in his foster home, Dr. Jen began trying to sort out the problem, at first considering the possibility of asthma associated with his weight. She started treatment immediately to ease his breathing and, when Meow didn’t improve, she sought additional help for him from our emergency specialty hospital and an additional private veterinary hospital. Although four different veterinarians worked with Meow, we were unable to stop the progression of what turned out to be pulmonary failure. Meow had been doing so well in his foster home; walking up stairs and seeking affection - that it is so very hard to believe he is gone. We will forever be grateful for the attention Meow’s size brought to pet obesity and to animal shelters across the country. We are especially grateful to all of you who fell in love with this charming cat - as we did – and were so very interested in his progress and success.

With gratitude, Mary Martin

Meow became famous two weeks ago when his elderly owner turned him into the shelter so they could help him lose the chunk. Meow was put on a diet, lost a couple of pounds and was slowly starting to become mobile again.

Farewell, Meow. You brought joy to many and really brought joy to me by falling back into Mah Boo's loving arms.

Now let's honor Meow by pouring a can of Fancy Feast (flavor: lasagna) into our mouth holes.

via People

Well, this one's going to hurt like a piece of your childhood is getting ripped away. Adam "MCA" Yauch, one of the founding members of the Beastie Boys along with Mike D and Ad Rock, passed away away this morning at the age of 47. Global Grind reported the sad news and TMZ confirms that it's true.

In 2009, Adam told Beastie Boys fans in a video message that the group pressed the pause button their tour and new album, because doctors found a cancerous tumor left parotid gland and he needed to undergo treatment. Adam had surgery to remove the tumor and went through radiation treatment. Earlier this year, Adam said that the rumor going around that he was cancer free was not true. The Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not too long, but Adam wasn't able to be there.

Adam is survived by his wife Dechen Wangdu and their 13-year-old daughter Tenzin Losel Yauc.

Rest in peace, MCA.

The sad news is that when I Googled "Barnabas Collins" 90% of the pictures that came up had Johnny Depp's face on them. The sadder news is that Jonathan Frid, who was the original Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows from 1967-1971, passed away in Canada at the age of 87. USA Today says that Jonathan died from natural causes on Friday the 13th. After reading that he died on Friday the 13th, I expected a flash of lightning followed by a shadow on the wall in front of me of Jonathan rising from the dead. It didn't happen.

Jonathan joined Dark Shadows during the second season and Barnabas was only supposed to stay around for a handful of episodes, but he became a regular after audiences ate him up. After Dark Shadows ended, Jonathan did a few movies, television shows and plays before retiring in Canada.

Before you say, "Well, on a positive note, at least he won't be here to hiss at the mangled carcass of Dark Shadows butchered by Tim Burton", Jonathan shot a cameo for the movie last year. Let's hope that mess doesn't even make it to the dollar theaters in heaven.

The most overused phrase of 2012 is "the Mayans were right," but really, the Mayans were right, because 2012 is frozen is in time now that Dick Clark is no longer here to count us down into the next year. TMZ says that Dick went up to the great big American Bandstand in the sky this at the age of 82.

Dick underwent some kind of outpatient procedure at L.A.'s St. John's Hospital late last night and his agent tells ABC News that he died of a "massive heart attack" afterward. Dick suffered a major stroke in 2004 and shortly after he semi-retired from hosting "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," but still came back every year.

Dick is survived by his wife Kari Wigton (Side note: Wigton is a hot last name) and his three children. Aaaand we're left with Ryan Seacrest. Seriously, cancel January 31st.

Andy Rooney's angel wing brows have some company in heaven, because Mike Wallace, one of the original correspondents on 60 Minutes, passed away at Waveny Care Center in Connecticut last night while surrounded by his family. Bob Schieffer said on Face the Nation this morning that Mike died after battling a long illness . Mike was 93.

Mike was with 60 Minutes for nearly 40 years before sort of retiring in 2006. The last interview Mike gave was with Roger Clemens in 2008. Morley Safer remembered Mike Wallace in a piece that went up on CBS' site this morning. Here's a tiny part of it:

For half a century, he took on corrupt politicians, scam artists and bureaucratic bumblers. His visits were preceded by the four dreaded words: Mike Wallace is here.

Wallace took to heart the old reporter's pledge to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. He characterized himself as "nosy and insistent."

So insistent, there were very few 20th century icons who didn't submit to a Mike Wallace interview. He lectured Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, on corruption. He lectured Yassir Arafat on violence.

He asked the Ayatollah Khoumeini if he were crazy.

He traveled with Martin Luther King (whom Wallace called his hero). He grappled with Louis Farrakhan.

And he interviewed Malcolm X shortly before his assassination.

In other words, Mike Wallace was not the one and here's my favorite evidence of that:

Rest in peace, Mike Wallace.

Thomas Kinkade, the most prolific artist of this generation whose work was so coveted that most roadside motels had to nail it to the wall to keep people from stealing it, has walked toward the light he painted. Thomas Kinkade is now teaching a master class in art next to Bob Ross at the great big Learning Annex in heaven after he died of natural causes at the young age of 54 yesterday. A spokesperson for the Kinkade family tells the Associated Press that Thomas passed away at his home in Los Gatos, CA.

The self-described "warrior of light" is the most collected artist in the US and it's been reported that 1 in 20 American homes has one of his cottage paintings hanging on its walls. It's true. If you walked into any memaw's home right now you'd find her crying pastel oil tears into a Kinkade handkerchief in between taking sips of orange tea from a Kinkade mug sitting on a Kinkade placemat. I mean, you really haven't seen art world drama until you've seen two 75-year-olds fight over a Kinkade painting at the swap meet.

Thomas Kinkade was in the news two Decembers ago after he was busted for DUI. The Los Angeles Times also reported a while ago that Thomas Kinkade once drunkenly pissed on a Winnie the Pooh statue at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. Dude was the painter of light AND the bad boy of the art world.

Rest in peace, Thomas. Your legacy will forever live on in this masterpiece Christmas movie starring Jensen Ackles the ho from Supernatural: