A true American pioneer, Sally Ride has passed away at age 61 after a 17 month battle with Pancreatic Cancer.
Flying aboard the Challenger in 1983, she made US history. She flew again on the same shuttle a year later. A physist as well as an astronaut, she helped design the robotic arm that made the shuttles (and later the ISS) so versatile and successful.
She also served on the two review boards overseeing the destruction of the Challenger and the Columbia.
“After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle’s earned its place in history. And it’s come to a final stop.”
In the pre-dawn hours in Florida, the Space Shuttle Atlantis came to a stop, ending a 30-year era of space travel for the United States.
The crew of four ended their historic mission forty-two years and one day after we first set foot on the moon.
After a long and very active career, Michael Gough has passed away.
This crowd probably knows him best as Alfred Pennyworth from the Tim Burton era Batman films. Don’t hold that against him, he was probably the single best part of the films, bringing dignity and a little humor to the role.
Gough would go on to star in other Burton productions, including Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, and last year’s Alice in Wonderland.
In 1979 he won a Tony Award for Best Actor (Feature Role – Play) for “Bedroom Farce.” He was nominated again for the same category in 1988 for his role in “Breaking the Code.”
Prolific fantasy author, Brian Jacques, passed away this weekend from a heart attack at age 71.
Jacques is best known for his Redwall series of fantasy novels that featured anthropomorphic woodland creatures in and around the abbey of Redwall. One of the best descriptions of his books have been “Lord of the Rings meets Watership Down.”