Dead Celebrity Alert

September 15, 1940–March 11, 2010.

Merlin Olsen, the Hall of Fame tackle who anchored the Los Angeles Rams’ Fearsome Foursome, the line that glamorized defensive play in the National Football League, died early Thursday at a hospital in Duarte, Calif. He was 69.

His death was announced by his brother Orrin, who said he had been treated for mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer involving a membrane that covers and protects most of the body’s internal organs. Until his hospitalization he had lived in Park City, Utah.

Olsen was considered one of the greatest tackles in N.F.L. history, but he also forged careers in broadcasting and acting. He was a longtime color commentator for NBC’s pro football and Rose Bowl telecasts, working with Dick Enberg, and he acted on television, most prominently in NBC’s “Little House on the Prairie” and in his own series, “Father Murphy.” Read Full Obituary

Don Haskins, credited with helping break color barriers in college sports in 1966 when he used five black starters to win a national basketball title at Texas Western, died Sunday. He was 78.

Dr. Dwayne Aboud said Haskins had been suffering from congestive heart failure and died at home about 4:30 p.m. He was surrounded by friends and relatives, Aboud said.

Haskins, known for his gruff demeanor, was portrayed in the 2006 movie “Glory Road.” … Read full obituary

Joey Giardello, a former middleweight boxing champion who won a decision over Rubin Carter in 1964 and then sued over how the fight was depicted in the 1999 film “The Hurricane,” has died. He was 78.

Giardello died Thursday of congestive heart failure at a nursing home in Cherry Hill, N.J., the International Boxing Hall of Fame announced.

Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1993, Giardello had a 101-25-7 record with 33 knockouts while fighting from 1948 to 1967. …

He successfully defended the belt against Carter in a unanimous decision in Philadelphia the next year before relinquishing it to Tiger in 1965. Two years later, he retired from the ring. Giardello followed a tortuous path to boxing’s pinnacle, and his life outside the ring was marked by colorful episodes. … Read full obituary

One of the country’s top track announcers, and for the last 10 years the voice of Ellis Park, Luke Kruytbosch, has died.

The 46-year-old Kruytbosch, who had called the last 10 Kentucky Derby’s, and was beginning his tenth season at Ellis Park, was found dead in his Evansville apartment Monday morning.

The Vanderburgh County Coroner, Don Erk, said the cause of death appears to be natural, and possibly coronary related. …

Ironically, in a talk last week with 14 News sports reporter Chris Goodman, Kurytbosch expressed how much he already missed Cliff Guilliams, the Courier and Press reporter who passed away during the offseason. … Read full obituary

Jim McKay elegantly covered competitions from badminton to barrel jumping. Yet he may best be remembered for that grim day at the Munich Olympics when he broke the news with three simple words: “They’re all gone.”

The groundbreaking sportscaster died Saturday of natural causes at his farm in Monkton, Md. He was 86.

McKay was the one who spanned the globe to bring television viewers the constant variety of sports on ABC’s influential “Wide World of Sports,” where he told of “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

A far different kind of agony awaited in 1972 when word came down in Munich that Palestinian terrorists had kidnapped 11 Israeli athletes. McKay was summoned from a day off, hurriedly putting clothes over a bathing suit to anchor ABC’s coverage of the drama as the games stood still. …

The New York Yankees paused to remember McKay before their game Saturday. He died hours before Big Brown attempted to earn a Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes in McKay’s favorite sport of all, horse racing. … Read full obituary

January 27, 1932 - May 30, 2008

When the Soviet Union began competing at the Olympic Games in 1952, its biggest successes came in sports with a premium on long hours of disciplined training, such as weightlifting, wrestling and particularly gymnastics, where there was a tradition of excellence. After Viktor Chukarin had won the men’s combined exercises title in the 1952 and 1956 Games, his training partner, Boris Shakhlin, maintained the dominance, collecting 13 Olympic medals, seven of them gold, including that for the combined exercises in Rome in 1960. … Read full obituary

Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper who went on to have a successful career as a police officer, receiving two commendations

As well as being a popular figure at Tottenham Hotspur, Newport County and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and playing both at Wembley and in Europe, Mark Kendall was also a much-respected police officer who once prevented a chain-saw attack. …

Mark Kendall, footballer and policeman, was born on September 20, 1958. He died of a heart attack on May 1, 2008, aged 49 … Read full obituary

WESLEY CHAPEL [FL] — A former player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was found dead inside a home in Wesley Chapel Sunday morning.

A friend found 46 year old Thomas McHale dead just after 9 am this morning inside the friend’s home on Ambrose Court. Detectives do not suspect foul play, but are investigating his death. … Read full story

FORT STOCKTON, Texas (AP) — Former NFL center Curtis Whitley was found dead in his trailer home in West Texas on Sunday night.

The local sheriff says the 39-year-old Whitley was found face down in the bathroom by friends who went to check on him after they had not heard from him. He says there was no sign of foul play, but the death remains under investigation. … Read full story

World champion skater who was an advocate of the dance aspect of the sport and epitomised the spirit of sportsmanship

The ice skating champion Cecilia Colledge might never have set foot on an ice rink had she not attended the 1928 World Championships at the Ice Club in London as a spectator. The seven-year-old was captivated watching the vivacious jumps and spins of the Norwegian skater Sonja Henie — who won the second of her ten world titles on that occasion — and told her mother: “I should like to skate like her.” Colledge was crowned world champion just nine years later.

She went on to become one of the innovators in the sport of figure skating. She was the first woman to execute a double jump (the salchow), at the 1936 European championships in Berlin, and is one of only four Britons to have won the women’s world championship. …

Cecilia Colledge, ice skating champion, was born on November 28, 1920. She died on April 12, 2008, aged 87 … Read full obituary

Marzano, a former Major League catcher who most recently served as an engaging host of the “Leading Off” show on MLB.com, died this weekend [Saturday] at his home in South Philadelphia, apparently after taking a fall down a flight of stairs and possibly after suffering a heart attack. He was 45.

Marzano, a first-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 1984 who played for the Sox, Rangers and Mariners, was in his second season as an on-air personality at MLB.com. …

Marzano played in the Minors for his hometown organization, and the Phillies, like so many others, expressed genuine sorrow upon the news of his passing. …

Marzano worked for WIP Radio in Philadelphia and at Comcast SportsNet as a postgame analyst for Phillies games before joining MLB.com. … Read full obituary

MIDLAND, Texas — Wally Kleine, a football standout who played defensive tackle for Notre Dame and the Washington Redskins, has died, family members said Wednesday. He was 43.

Kleine died of heart failure Sunday at a Lubbock hospital, his sister Emily Kleine said.

Kleine was an all-state player at Midland High School in 1981 and starred at Notre Dame. He was a second-round pick by the Redskins in 1987 and spent two years with the NFL team. … Read full obituary

There is heartache and pain for Sumter and the South Carolina athletic community. Both are in mourning tonight after the sudden, and, to this point, unexplainable death of football player Jamacia Jackson.

Jackson first grabbed the spotlight at Sumter High School when he was one of the top players in the state, playing in the 1999 Shrine Bowl. Jackson would move on to USC, playing safety and special teams for coach Lou Holtz from 2001-2204. Jamacia Jackson was about to enter his second season in the Canadian Football League where he continued to pursue his pro football dreams.

Monday morning the 26 year-old was found dead at his girlfriend’s home, he had presumably died in his sleep. How he died remains a mystery. …

This past January Jamacia Jackson signed on with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger Cats. …

Jamacia Jackson is the second Palmetto State football player to pass away in the last few weeks. Newberry College offensive lineman Heath Benedict died last month. He was found dead on a couch in his Florida home. … Read full obituary

Cliff Guilliams, who chronicled Kentucky racing both as the official chart caller and a writer for the Evansville Courier & Press, died in his sleep Saturday night in his Louisville hotel room, Equibase Co. confirmed today.

Guilliams, 52, also was The Courier-Journal’s handicapper the past two years. …

Guilliams was notable for close friendships with Hall of Fame trainers Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito. Through Zito, owner Robert LaPenta named two horses after Guilliams: Blue Grass winner The Cliff’s Edge (who was fifth as the program favorite in the 2004 Derby) and Little Cliff. … Read full obituary

Former WCW wrestler Chase Tatum was found dead late Sunday afternoon of an apparent accidental drug overdose, his father said.

Tatum, 34, was recovering from back surgery 10 days earlier to repair a degenerative disc. His father, Roy Tatum of Kennesaw, said his son had been battling a painkiller dependence for years but had made plans to enter a rehabilitation facility in Miami. …

Chase Tatum’s body was discovered by a friend at his Buckhead home around 4 p.m. Sunday. He was unresponsive and could not be revived by emergency personnel. A toxicology report has been ordered by the Fulton County Medical Examiner, which will take anywhere from six to eight weeks, said Laura Salm, an investigator with the coroner’s office. …

Chase Tatum was 19 years old when he won the Mr. Georgia bodybuilding competition. He was always a big kid, his father said, An online movie resume described him as 6-feet, 3-inches tall and 265 pounds. …

Tatum’s wrestling career was unplanned and short-lived. … Read full obituary