Rue McClanahan. She was 76 years old. She was more than just a ‘Golden Girl’. She was cool. Like Gary Coleman and Dennis Hopper, she made people feel like they were important.

The actress Rue McClanahan is dead in the United States. She was known on the small screens for her role in the series The Golden Girls …

Rue McClanahan died at the age of 76, the night of Wednesday to Thursday, the United States. ? ? The actress who was also a producer, reportedly died of a stroke after long trials due to her health problems.

Rue McClanahan was born in Healdton, Oklahoma, where she grew up before getting out on Broadway 41 years now, as she played the role of Sally in the musical Weber Jimmy Shine with Dustin Hoffman. But soon television actress who becomes infatuated that appear in the series Maude in the period 1972-1978 (adapted Antenne 2 and renamed Maggie), but especially from the Golden Girls between 1985 and 1992. She played Blanche Devereaux, a southerner eater of men and owner of an estate she shared with her roommates Dorothy Zbornak (Beatrice Arthur), Rose Nylund (Betty White) and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty). Her appearances are numerous in the series or telefilms and we note its participation in 1998 to a Columbo entitled In Larger pumps.

Militant animal rights, vegetarian, she had joined the ranks of the famous (and provocative) PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). This did not prevent her from worrying about the fate of her compatriots by supporting the Democrats and, recently, Barack Obama U.S. presidential candidate then. One of her last roles was for fiction A Memory Eternal is now in charge of reality.

Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper, best known for directing and starring in the 1969 cult classic “Easy Rider,” died on Saturday from complications of prostate cancer, a friend of the actor said. Hopper was 74.

The hard-living screen star died at his home in the coastal Los Angeles suburb of Venice at 8:15 a.m. PDT (1515 GMT), surrounded by family and friends, the friend, Alex Hitz, told Reuters.

In a wildly varied career spanning more than 50 years, Hopper appeared alongside his mentor James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant” in the 1950s and played maniacs in such films as “Apocalypse Now,” “Blue Velvet” and “Speed.”

He received two Oscar nominations — for writing “Easy Rider” (with co-star Peter Fonda and Terry Southern), and for a rare heartwarming turn as an alcoholic high-school basketball coach in the 1986 drama “Hoosiers.”

But his prodigious drug abuse, temper tantrums, propensity for domestic violence and poor choice of movie roles often made him a Hollywood pariah.

Hopper felt over-indulgence was a requirement for great artists. He once claimed he snorted lines of cocaine “as long as your arm every five minutes, just so I could carry on drinking … gallons” of alcohol.

Still, his legacy rests securely on “Easy Rider.” Regarded as one of the greatest films of American cinema, it helped usher in a new era in which the old Hollywood guard was forced to cede power to young filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.

Gary Coleman of ‘Whatchu talkin bout Willis?’ fame died today. last year at about this time it was Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett, and Ed McMahon. I’m wondering who the next two are going to be…

I’m saying Erik Estrada and Heather Locklear. But then maybe it will be someone else. Hard to say…

PROVO, Utah – Gary Coleman, the child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes” whose later career was marred by medical and legal problems, died Friday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42.

Life support was terminated and Coleman died at 12:05 p.m. MDT with family and friends at his side, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank said.

Coleman, with his sparkling eyes and perfect comic timing, became a star after “Diff’rent Strokes” debuted in 1978. He played Arnold Jackson, the younger one of a pair of African-American brothers adopted by a wealthy white man.

“It’s unfortunate. It’s a sad day,” said Todd Bridges, who played the older brother Willis. “It’s sad that I’m the last kid alive from the show.”

Dana Plato, who played the boys’ white, teenage sister, committed suicide in 1999. Bridges was tried and acquitted of attempted murder.

Coleman’s popularity faded when the show ended after six seasons on NBC and two on ABC.

Coleman suffered continuing ill health from the kidney disease that stunted his growth and had a host of legal problems in recent years.

He suffered the brain hemorrhage Wednesday at his Santaquin home, 55 miles south of Salt Lake City.

A statement from the family said he was conscious and lucid until midday Thursday, when his condition worsened and he slipped into unconsciousness. Coleman was then placed on life support.

“The world’s going to be a little less happy place without Gary,” said Randy Kester, Coleman’s attorney. “For being a small guy, he sure had a big impact on the world.”

The Ethiopian government is expected to confirm later that it needs emergency food aid for 6.2 million people.

This is because of the effects of prolonged drought and erratic rains on crops and grazing for livestock.

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is already facing a shortfall of more than $85m (£50m) worth of food for Ethiopia to the end of this year.

Aid agency Oxfam has called for a new approach to tackling the risk of disaster in the country.

In a report marking 25 years since the famine that killed around one million Ethiopians, Oxfam said that imported food aid saves lives in the short term but does little to help communities withstand the next shock.

2. (Dick Clark?)

3. (Phyllis Diller?)

Your guess is as good as mine, but sure as rain, there will be two more in the next few days…who will they be? Only time will tell, but I have my money on Dick Clark and Phyllis Diller, though it wouldn’t surprise me if Miley Cyrus or Mickey Rooney were the next, and then there is the very ancient Kirk Russel, of course it could be someone we would never expect…like Gene Simmons or Ozzy Osborne…

Swayze, whose spokesman announced in March 2008 that the actor had pancreatic cancer, died at home with his family at his side, ABC News reported, citing his spokeswoman Annett Wolf.

The Texas native began his career as a dancer and made dozens of stage, film and TV appearances over four decades. Pop culture immortality came with 1987′s “Dirty Dancing,” which defied Hollywood expectations to become one of the most-watched movies of all time.

Swayze played the swaggering Castle in the film opposite Jennifer Grey’s sheltered teenager, Frances “Baby” Houseman, who becomes smitten with Castle while on vacation at a New York resort during the 1960s.

An unlikely romance builds between the pair as Castle trains the gawky teen to stand in for his partner at a dance-off in the film’s climactic scene and confronts her father with the often-quoted line from the film: “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”

“Dirty Dancing,” which was made for a modest budget and almost scrapped by its studio, became a massive box-office hit, earning Golden Globe nominations for both stars and spawning the Oscar-winning hit single “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”

Ted Kennedy — The Last Brother – CBS News

It’s the end of an era. The last of the Kennedy brothers is now dead and gone. Since JFK Jr. died some years ago, that leaves the Kennedy women and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the sole survivors to carry the Kennedy flame. We’ll see how that goes.