Notable deaths, October 2009

Obituaries

Notable deaths for October 2009. Remembering Soupy Sales, Mercedes Sosa and Captain Lou Albano.

Soupy Sales: Jan. 8, 1926 - Oct. 22 --- A comic with a gift for slapstick, Sales attained cult-like popularity in the 1960s with a pie-throwing routine that became his signature. Sales once estimated that he was hit by more than 25,000 pies in his lifetime. From 1968 to 1975, Sales was a regular panelist on the syndicated revival of 'What's My Line?' and appeared on several other TV game shows. Sales died from numerous ailments.

Mercedes Sosa: July 9, 1935 - Oct. 4 --- Sosa was an Argentine singer whose songs championed social justice. Her career spanned four decades and she received several Grammy awards and nominations, including some posthumously. Upon her death, her body was placed on display at the National Congress building in Buenos Aires for the public to pay their respects, and the Argentine president ordered three days of national mourning. Sosa died from liver, kidney and heart ailments.

Lou Albano: July 29, 1933 - Oct. 14 --- Captain Albano was a legendary wrestling figure for the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Albano was with the WWE from 1983 to 1996 and inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. in 1996. Albano was known for his unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts and trademark beard, which was bound by a rubber band. Albano also had cameos in five of Cyndi Lauper's music videos in the 1980s, including 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'.

Shiloh Pepin: Aug.,1999 - Oct. 23 --- Pepin, whose nickname was 'Mermaid Girl' suffered from sirenomelia. Her two legs were joined together when they formed in the womb. Pepin was one of six people in the world with the disease and made headlines worldwide when her story was aired on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' a month before her death. Pepin was 10-years-old when she died and a fifth-grader at Kennebunkport (MA) Consolidated School.

Ben Ali: June 13, 1927 - Oct. 6 --- Ali, pictured at right, owned one of the most famed and historic places in Washington D.C.: Ben's Chili Bowl which serves chili, half-smokes and fries. A Trinidadian immigrant who opened the Bowl in 1958, Ali fed everyone from dignitaries to local residents. Only one person ate free there: Bill Cosby (a long-time supporter). Even President Obama paid for his $12 tab on a visit. Ali died from congestive heart failure.

Vic Mizzy: Jan. 9, 1916 - Oct. 17 --- Mizzy was a composer for TV and movies whose best-known works include the theme music for 'Green Acres' and 'The Addams Family'. Mizzy owned the publishing rights to 'The Addams Family' theme, and it was an easy payday. 'I sat down; I went 'buh-buh-buh-bump (snap-snap), buh-buh-buh-bump,' he recalled in a 2008 interview on CBS' 'Sunday Morning' show. 'That's why I'm living in Bel-Air: Two finger snaps and you live in Bel-Air.' Mizzy died at heart failure.

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Soupy Sales: Jan. 8, 1926 - Oct. 22 --- A comic with a gift for slapstick, Sales attained cult-like popularity in the 1960s with a pie-throwing routine that became his signature. Sales once estimated that he was hit by more than 25,000 pies in his lifetime. From 1968 to 1975, Sales was a regular panelist on the syndicated revival of 'What's My Line?' and appeared on several other TV game shows. Sales died from numerous ailments.

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