DCS: tom spanbauer
June is Pride Month.
Tom Spanbauer, the author of five novels, created a concept known as “dangerous writing.”
His writing often focused on themes of race and sexual identity. As a teacher, he encouraged his students to overcome their fears and write painful personal truths. In his courses, he spoke of bringing one’s inner life out of the closet and reading aloud to a group.
Tom was a member of the Peace Corps and brought his philosophy all over the world.
He suffered with Parkinson’s Disease for eight years before dying from heart failure in September 2024 at the age of 78. His legacy lives on through his students – forty of whom published memoirs inspired by Tom’s philosophy.
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inktober52: spur
Kay Kyser’s band was somewhere between Glenn Miller and Spike Jones. They were a straightforward band, but sometimes they leaned towards the silly and absurd… especially when they featured cornetist Merwyn Bogue, who went by the stage name “Ish Kabibble.” Kay Kyser and his band performed straight up swing, peppering in proud and patriotic songs to help the war effort and boost morale. But then there were songs like “Three Little Fishes,” “The Woody Woodpecker Song,” the somewhat risque “Strip Polka” and “Alexander the Swoose.”
In 1942, Kay and his band introduced “Jingle Jangle Jingle” from the film The Forest Rangers starring Fred MacMurray, Paulette Goddard and Susan Hayward. The jaunty western tune reached Billboard’s Number one spot in July 1942.
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DCS: mariana levy
Aspiring actress Mariana Levy landed her first role as a teenager, playing “Veronica” in the Mexican soap opera Vivir Enamorada. After taking a year off, Mariana returned to the small screen. She appeared in a long string of telenovelas, including a stint playing three different characters in Yo compro esa mujer.
Mariana appeared with her mother as co-host of the variety series Nuestra Casa. She took a role in the hugely-popular historical telenovela Amor Real before retiring to raise a family.
On April 29, 2005 in Mexico City, Mariana was approached by an armed assailant attempting to steal her watch. The incident was too much for her and she suffered a fatal heart attack on the spot. Mariana was 39 years old.
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inktober52: gemini
Former USAF pilot Gus Grissom was selected from a group of 110 test pilots to join NASA’s Mercury Project space program, the space agency’s first foray into manned space exploration. In 1961, Gus was the pilot on the second Mercury Project flight.
Three years later, Gus was selected as the pilot for the Gemini 3, the first manned flight of the new Gemini Program. This made Gus the first person to travel into space twice.
In 1967, NASA created the Apollo Program, the agency’s next phase of space exploration. Gus, was selected as commander of Apollo 1, along with senior pilot Ed White and pilot Roger Chaffee. This would make Gus the first person to travel into space on three separate missions. However, in a pre-flight test, the interior of the Command Module caught fire and all three astronauts died on the launchpad.
Gus was 40 years old. He spent a total of 5 hours and three minutes in space.
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DCS: joel fluellen
Joel Fluellen took some small jobs while he pursued his dream of becoming an actor. After a few appearances on the New York stage, he moved to Hollywood and landed an uncredited role in the film Cabin in the Sky. As an active member of the Screen Actors Guild, Joel fought for more meaningful parts for African-American actors. Although he had no trouble finding work, he was mostly relegated to roles of waiters or servants or taxi drivers. Every so often, Joel managed to get a more substantial part. He played the main character’s brother in The Jackie Robinson Story, a businessman in Raisin in the Sun and James Earl Jones’ coach in The Great White Hope.
Joel continued to act in films and on television into the end of the 1970s. After leaving show business, he continued his efforts for the rights of African-American actors. His actions were instrumental in securing a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for film star Dorothy Dandridge.
In February 1990, his health and vision failing, Joel shot and killed himself in his Los Angeles home. He was 82.
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inktober52: fungi
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DCS: ruth buzzi
After working in a number of Clio Award-winning commercials, Ruth Buzzi performed as an inept magician’s assistant “Shakundala the Silent” on a 1964 episode of The Garry Moore Show, playing opposite comedian Dom DeLuise as an equally-inept magician. Later, she was a member of the repertory company on the short-lived variety show The Entertainers. A few years later, Ruth found herself on Broadway in a small role in Sweet Charity alongside Gwen Verdon.
Appearances on The Steve Allen Comedy Hour led to the role for which she was most associated – one of the cast of zanies on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Ruth was the only member of the cast to appear in every episode of the long-running comedy, including the pilot episode as well as a 1967 TV special before the series went into regular production.
Ruth’s career skyrocketed with guest roles in films, television and even voice-over work for cartoons. She was featured in the Saturday morning Krofft Bothers-produced sitcom The Lost Saucer with Jim Nabors and later, she joined the cast of Sesame Street. Ruth voiced the animated version of her character “Gladys Ormphby” on the cartoon Baggy Pants and the Nitwits with her Laugh-In co-star Arte Johnson. She appeared in music videos by “Weird Al” Yankovic, The Presidents of the United States of America and the B-52s. She had a successful run in the nightclubs at the Sahara and MGM Grand hotels in Las Vegas.
Ruth, and her husband of nearly 50 years, maintained a ranch in Texas and amassed a collection of vintage automobiles. They would regularly lend the vehicles out for photoshoots, commercials and parades. Ruth was also very well known for her charitable endeavors, often giving away income from personal appearances to worthy causes.
In 2021, Ruth announced that she was officially retired from acting. It was revealed that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. In 2022, reports surfaced that Ruth had suffered a series of strokes. In May 2025, while in hospice care, Ruth passed away at the age of 88 — just one day after her husband made a Facebook post, thanking Ruth’s fans for years of support.
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inktober52: pup
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DCS: jill sobule
This is sad. This is really sad. Jill Sobule, the vivacious, insightful, funny singer-songwriter died on May 1st in a house fire in Woodbury, Minnesota.
What makes Jill’s death particularly sad was that she was so full of life. She had plans for the immediate and long-term future. She had just wrapped up a tour opening shows for 80s icons The Fixx. She was riding high with glowing reviews of her autobiographical musical Fuck 7th Grade. She had plans to tour in support of the 30th anniversary release of her breakthrough self -titled album, best known for its surprise hit “I Kissed a Girl.” The 1995 single is widely recognized as the first LGBTQ+ song to crack Billboard’s Top 20.
Although mostly known for a 30-year old song, Jill never rested on her laurels. She released a dozen albums, tackling topics from rape to depression to anorexia, to anti-Semitism, all presented in Jill’s lovely voice and sardonic attitude. In 2009, she was a pioneer in the crowdfunding movement, financing her album California Years purely with fan donations. Along the way, Jill wrote an entirely new set of songs for the Isaac Bashevis Singer story Yentl, after learning that the author was not happy with the depiction and tone of the Barbra Streisand-led version. She was an outspoken activist for gay rights, women’s right and human rights. She had songs featured on film and television soundtracks. She sponsored and participated in regular songwriting workshops. She had a concert scheduled for Friday, May 2… the day after her untimely death.
Jill had plans. A lot of plans.
Her plans were cut short at 66.