august 2005 > final credits > last link on the left

Michael Sheard >permalink<

Actor

Michael Sheard Sheard's acting career seemed to exist in two spheres. There are legions who know him as Admiral Ozzel from the 1980 "Star Wars" installment "The Empire Strikes Back." And then there are those who know him from over 100 other film and television appearances.

Sharp-eyed movie fans will recognise Sheard from his five appearances portraying Adolf Hitler (such as in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and TV's "The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission"), three portrayals of Hitler's SS Commander Heinrich Himmler (and once as Hermann Göring's double), six appearances as different characters in the "Doctor Who" series (for Doctors 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8), and in 13 different roles in the UK police series "Dixon of Dock Green."

Sheard was also well-remembered for other British TV roles, such as the toupée-wearing French teacher who terrorized his pupils in "Grange Hill" and as one of the original actors on "EastEnders." Sheard also appeared in "The Avengers" and the obligatory "Z Cars."

Dependability and versatility led many in the business to call him "One Take Mike." When Darth Vader took Sheard's Ozzel to task for allowing the Millennium Falcon to escape through the asteroid belt, George Lucas said it was the finest film death he had ever seen. Sheard took the "Star Wars" role at the insistence of his children, but counted his Sergeant Mann in "Escape to Athena" with Roger Moore as his favourite role.

Ozzel propelled Sheard to cult status and he appeared at conventions with delight, referring to aficionados as "appreciators" and not "fans." An Admiral Ozzel action figure came out in 2004, which no doubt raised his shelf-esteem. Sheard usually waived remuneration to appear at charity events.

Sheard wrote four autobiographies about his long and varied screen career and has a Bacon number of 2. Fans may wish to visit Sheard's official web site.

August 31, 2005 at age 67. Cancer

André Debry >permalink<

World War I veteran

Of the 8.5 million French soldiers who served in the First World War, now only 8 survive. The surviving members of that campaign are known as "les poilus" (the hairy ones). Debry died two weeks after celebrating his 81st wedding anniversary.

In addition to news of France losing one of its last Great War soldiers, Debry's passing rekindled debate over the title of "oldest living married couple." On June 9, 2005, Guinness Book of World Records recognised Herbert Brown and his wife Magda as the titleholders, with a combined age of 205 years and 293 days and a marriage of 75 years. Debry and his wife Marguerite, who is 100, were married 81 years. Their combined age was 207. Guinness bases its work on submitted data.

Debry joined the artillery when he enlisted in 1917. Both from the central French town of Argenton-sur-Creuse, André and Marguerite met shortly after World War I and were married in 1924. André worked as a teacher until his retirement in 1957. The secret to their long marriage? "The same tastes, respect and no quarrelling."

Claude-Marie Boucaud, the ninth last of "les poilus," died May 17, 2005.

August 31, 2005 at age 107.

Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper >permalink<

World's oldest living person

Since May 2004, Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper held the title of "world's oldest living person." She was the first person since the 1980s to hold the title while over the age of 114 years. Van Andel ascended to the title after the death of Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Iglesias-Jordan was thought to have been the last person to die born in 1889.

Van Andel was born Hendrikje Schipper in 1890 in Smilde, a small northern village in Drenthe, the Netherlands. She was born prematurely and there were doubts that she would survive. Continuous care from her grandmother during her first four weeks saw that she recovered. She learned to read and write from her father after she was removed from school on advice of a doctor.

Van Andel lived with her parents until she was 47 years old. She married Dick van Andel, a tax inspector, at the age of 49 in 1939. Her mother objected to Van Andel's desire to pursue a career as an actress and she became a needlework teacher instead. Her husband died from cancer in 1959.

An ardent fan of the Ajax football club for eight decades, she received a visit from the team on her 115th birthday on June 29th. Also in attendance was the daughter-in-law of the Queen of the Netherlands. Van Andel once stated that the secret to longevity is a serving of herring every day and drinking orange juice. On her 113th birthday she jokingly added "breathing".

Van Andel died in an academic hospital at Groningen. According to her wish, her body will be examined for the benefit of medical science.

With Van Andel's death, Elizabeth Jones Bolden of Memphis, Tennesse is now the oldest known living person. She reached 115 on August 15, 2005. Of the 66 people over the age of 110, only four are men. 114 is the most common maximum human life span. The longest-living person on record was France's Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days. The world's oldest man currently is Emiliano Mercado del Toro, 114, of Puerto Rico.

For more about the lives of those over 100 years of age, visit this entry on the Last Link Final Credits Sources page.

August 30, 2005 at age 115.

Florence Reeves >permalink<

Britain's oldest person

Within hours of the news of the passing of Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, the world's oldest living person, the oldest person in the UK died.

Florence Reeves, born February 17, 1894, lived alone in a bungalow until May 2005 when she moved to a local nursing home. During the First World War, Reeves was a senior civil servant in the War Office working on the Morse code transmission of classified material. Reeves saw 22 prime ministers enter Downing Street (from Gladstone to Blair) and lived under five monarchs. She outlived her husband by 30 years.

Britain's oldest person is now Lucy Victoria d'Abreu, born in India in 1892 and now living in Scotland. d'Abreu claims her longevity is down to a "customary sun-downer of brandy and ginger ale".

August 30, 2005 at age 111.

Hurricane Katrina >permalink<

New Orleans 2005

It is too soon to summarise the human experience endured in the American states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is a story that is unfolding by the minute and it may be years before it can be completely told.

When the history of the United States in the twenty-first century is written, Hurricane Katrina may surpass 911 in terms of impact on its citizens. As was seen with the tsunami of south-east Asia in December 2004, the forces of nature remind us that we are merely passengers of Planet Earth.

Listed are a sampling of web sites reporting the ongoing events surrounding the strong category four hurricane that made a second landfall on August 29, 2005.

Charles C. Gates Jr. >permalink<

Billionaire

The other Gates Before Bill there was Charles (no relation) ... and it all started with a V-belt.

In 1911, Gates' father, Charles C. Gates Sr., bought Colorado Tire & Leather Co. and renamed it Gates Co. Six years later, the company developed the V-belt and it soon became an integral part of automotive drive-trains the world over. By the 1960s, Gates Jr. had diversified the company, buying into ranches, subdivisions, mutual funds and a controlling interest in Learjet. In 1966, he sold the rubber business to London-based Tomkins for an incredible $1.16 billion. The family retained ranching, oil and gas, water and real estate interests and managed them as the Cody Co.

Gates Jr. was often quoted as saying, "What we need in this world is more production and less suction," and was credited for transforming the company from a regional manufacturer to one of the largest automotive and industrial belt and hose manufacturing firms in the world. The company had 14,000 employees and factories in 13 countries. In 2004, Forbes magazine listed Charles Gates Jr. on its billionaires list. At the time of his death, Gates was chairman of the Gates Family Foundation, which has given out more than $147 million since its creation in 1946.

August 28, 2005 at age 84.

Nell I. Mondy >permalink<

Potato expert

You want fries with that? According to Nell, this spud's for you. She considered the potato to be a "food for the world." The international expert on the apple of the earth was a professor emerita of nutritional sciences at Cornell, and her 1987 proposal on potato marketing resulted in the formation of the National Potato Council research program.

Mondy was born in Pocahontas, Arkansas. She graduated from Ouachita Baptist University during World War II and earned her master's degree from the University of Texas and her doctorate from Cornell. For many years she was the only woman in chemistry wherever she went.

Mondy pushed hard to dispel the potato's reputation as a weighty clump of empty calories. She espoused the vegetable's nutritional richness, low cost and long life in storage. Mondy said that meals of potatoes and milk provided enough nutrition for a healthy diet.

However, Mondy's research in the 1990s created a public stir when she released a study suggesting that a naturally occurring toxic compound found in potatoes could be hazardous to human health. Compounds concentrated in the potato skin when exposed to light could be of concern but enormous quantities would have to be eaten to result in harm. Mondy recommended removing the skins.

Mondy was a consultant to Frito-Lay, Procter & Gamble and other food companies before retiring in 1992.

August 25, 2005 at age 83. Complications after an operation.

Tom Pashby >permalink<

Hockey helmet advocate

A physician's worst nightmare is to have to attend to one of their own children as a patient. That worst-case scenario came true on a Saturday morning in 1959 when Tom Pashby's 13-year-old son was rushed to a Toronto area hospital for injuries received after being checked from behind in a hockey game. Pashby, an ophthalmologist, soon embarked on a crusade to prevent similar injuries, and many of his recommendations have become part of everyday hockey.

Pashby (or "Dr. Safety" as he was nicknamed) helped push for the use of safety equipment including mandatory helmets and face and neck guards. He also led the push for penalties for cross checking and other actions that could lead to back or eye injuries. Pashby's youngest son, Bob, is believed to have been the first player in the Toronto Hockey League to have worn a helmet. That primitive headgear is now part of the Hockey Hall of Fame's collection.

Pashby was a consulting doctor to the Toronto Maple Leafs and chair of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) from 1975 to 1995. In 1979, the National Hockey League made helmets mandatory for all incoming players. In 1981, Pashby was made a member of the Order of Canada. Pashby was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

As recently as 2004, Pashby was urging the NHL to adopt a ban to hits to the head, a rule already enforced by The International Ice Hockey Federation, USA Hockey and Hockey Canada. He would often use Vancouver Canucks' forward Todd Bertuzzi's attack on Colorado's Steve Moore as an example. The Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund has raised approximately $600,000 for research and education and annually offers a $10,000 award for outstanding contributions to preventing catastrophic injuries in sport.

August 24, 2005 at age 90.

Brock Peters >permalink<

Actor

He was born George Fisher, but the African/West Indian descendant grew up to be Brock Peters. He also grew to be 6-foot 2-inches. When he was ten, Peters already knew that he wanted to be an actor and a performer. After studying violin and singing, he graduated in 1947 with a degree in Physical Education from City College at New York. During a stint in the military, he also appeared in cabaret theatre while holding down jobs as a YMCA instructor, an orderly at a hospital and as a shipping clerk. He landed a role in the musical "Porgy and Bess" and went on tour with the show.

Peters made his film debut in 1954's "Carmen Jones," and reprised his stage role in the other acclaimed all-black film musical of the decade, 1959's "Porgy and Bess." Peters' dark skin, searing eyes and intimidating scowl led him to be type-cast as the archetypal and menacing black villain on screen. His dramatic flair against type became apparent when he played a sensitive and complex homosexual trumpet player who befriended Leslie Caron in the 1962 British film "The L-Shaped Room."

Peters then landed the role of a lifetime as the wrongfully-accused rapist Tom Robinson in "To Kill a Mockingbird," one of the most politically charged films early in a decade that saw black actors come to the fore. Peters appeared opposite Gregory Peck, who played defense attorney Atticus Finch, and beat out James Earl Jones for the part.

Among Peters' other notable appearances was in Sidney Lumet's 1964 film "The Pawnbroker," playing Rod Steiger's antagonistic ghetto hood Rodriguez. Peters also was seen in "The Incident," "Slaughter's Big Rip-Off," "Soylent Green" and "Two-Minute Warning."

In recent years, Peters played Admiral Cartwright in two of the "Star Trek" feature films. He is one of only 32 actors or actresses to have starred in both the original "Star Trek" (up to and including "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country") and then in one of the spin offs. Peters voiced Darth Vader in the National Public Radio adaptations of the Star Wars Trilogy, again usurping James Earl Jones. Peters read the eulogy at the funeral of Gregory Peck, his "Mockingbird" co-star, on June 16, 2003.

Peters was recognised for his craft by induction into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1976, and with a Life Achievement Award from the National Film Society in 1977. The Screen Actors Guild also honoured him with an achievement award in 1990, citing his durability and versatility. He also received a Tony Award nomination for his performance on Broadway in "Lost in the Stars."

August 23, 2005 at age 78. Pancreatic cancer.

Robert Moog >permalink<

Synthesizer innovator

Moog In the annals of recorded music, there are but a handful of true pioneers. There was Thomas Edison, who invented the medium. There was Leon Theremin, who introduced the first pure electronic instrument. Les Paul, who invented the electric guitar and pioneered modern studio technology, and Leo Fender, who made electric guitars accessible to millions. And then there was Bob Moog, who developed mass-produced devices whose impact on modern music has lasted five decades, forever changing the soundscape of culture. As inventor of the Moog Synthesizer, Bob Moog saw himself not as an innovator but a toolmaker, with musicians as his customer. From modern music pop songs to cellphone ringtones and iPods, Moog's work is heard every minute of every day.

Robert Moog died August 21, 2005 at age 71 from glioblastoma multiforme, an inoperable brain tumour. For more about Moog and his career's impact on modern music, visit the Last Link Robert Moog tribute page.

Tony Orchard >permalink<

Chemist

Growing up, Orchard was very good at tennis and snooker. In his teens he regularly beat older players who later went on to become world champions. When it came time to decide a career path. He chose the uncharted territory of inorganic chemistry while studying at Oxford College.

During the 1970s, Orchard led a group working on photoelectron spectroscopy. The ability to examine the electronic structure of materials helped pave the way for technological developments including home computers, printers, mobile phones and other modern gadgets.

August 19, 2006 at age 64. Colon cancer.

Ella May Stumpe >permalink<

One of Maryland State's oldest residents

Ella May Stumpe At age 15, when Stumpe learned how to drive the 1910 Model T Ford her father bought, she was one of the youngest women in America to do so. Nearly 85 years, later she became the oldest person to enroll in a local college.

In between those benchmarks, Stumpe saw two world wars, the Depression and the revolutions brought about by cars and computers. She would have celebrated the end of the first world war but was quarantined due to the Spanish flu.

Throughout her life, Stumpe was reluctant to take prescription medications, choosing only certain vitamins instead. She was a teacher, manager of an executive dining room, drugstore manager and a county clerk. She had married three times. She met one her best friends 30 years ago at the age of 80 (they didn't really think that the friendship would last very long because of their 35 year age gap.)

Stumpe did not entirely approve of the way things changed during her life. "From the pinnacle of my advanced years, I see no end in sight for recovery from this mad race to improve," she once said. However, in her late 90s, she enrolled in a Microcomputing Fundamentals course. Ironically, the college had trouble registering her because their computers couldn't process the year she was born. She used the skills learned to write her book "100 Years, My Story."

When people asked Ella May Stumpe how she managed to live so long, she often joked that the secret was her sweet tooth.

August 16, 2005 at age 110.

Marius Fortier >permalink<

Father of the Quebec Nordiques

When the World Hockey Association mounted its challenge to the National Hockey League for dominance in the world of professional hockey in North America, Marius Fortier led a group of six partners to help form the Quebec Nordiques. The Nordiques, who began as the San Francisco Seahawks when the WHA was first announced in 1972, joined the Alberta Oilers, the Ottawa Nationals, the New England Whalers, the Winnipeg Jets, the Houston Aeros, the Indianapolis Racers, the Philadelphia Blazers and the Cleveland Crusaders (among others) in a quest for the AVCO Cup that lasted until 1979.

The Seahawks franchise was purchased for $215,000 and Fortier served as the Nordiques' first general manager, hiring retired Montreal Canadiens' hero Maurice "Rocket" Richard as head coach (coaching only two games before ways parted). The Nordiques joined the NHL in 1979, and Fortier remained with the club as vice-president of public relations.

The Nordiques were successful on-ice, but their financial failures caught up to them during the lockout shortened 1994-95 season. The team asked the Quebec government for assistance but the needed bailout fell through. The team was sold to a group of investors in Denver where the franchise was reborn as the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in its first outing.

When was asked what prompted the Nordiques' move, a heartbroken Fortier replied "Damn money! There will never again be NHL hockey here."

August 16, 2005 at age 79. Kidney and lung problems.

Elwood Perry >permalink<

Fishing lure innovator

Elwood Perry There are many tall-tales told when it comes to the sport of fishing, but this is not one of them. At the age of 17, "Buck" Perry caught a largemouth bass weighing in at 22 pounds, 4 ounces. The catch is still the world record. Perry parlayed his natural understanding of how fish travelled within a stream into the development of the Spoonplug, a lure that has sold in the millions, and a philosophy know as "Spoonplugging" that took into account underwater topography, weather, water conditions and the natural migration of fish.

Perry demonstrated his lure's capability in 1954, in front of dozens of witnesses, casting a silver Spoonplug 30 times and landing 30 bass. He promoted his lure with stunts such as dousing a Spoonplug in gasoline, considered repugnant to fish, and then promptly catching one.

Perry's business expanded to making golf clubs and sleeping bags, but after a fire at his plant in 1971, he stuck to Spoonplugs which now come in seven sizes and 35 colors. In 1973, Perry published "Spoonplugging: Your Guide to Lunker Catches," and a decade later he published a nine-volume home study guide to "structure fishing" which was the adopted name for Perry's Spoonplugging school of thought. In 2000, In-Fisherman magazine named him to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

August 12, 2005 at age 90.

Stavis "Steve" Ellis >permalink<

Motorcycle cop

For Dallas police officer Steve Ellis, November 22, 1963 started out as just another day escorting a dignitary. He had pulled the duty many times before, riding his police-issue Harley Davidson alongside the likes of Mary Pickford, Elvis Presley, Judy Garland, Dick Powell, Roy Rogers, Bob Hope, and every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Richard Nixon.

As sergeant in command of the motorcycle escort for President John F. Kennedy's motorcade, it would be a chance to cruise through Dallas on a bright and sunny late-fall day. He had worked with the president so often that Kennedy even knew his name.

As the motorcade passed the Texas School Book Depository, Ellis waved at his in-laws, Bill and Gayle Newman, and their two children who were standing in Dealey Plaza. He then turned to his right to signal the motorcade to space out for the faster trip up Stemmons Freeway. Just as he turned, the first shot was fired. When he saw spectators drop to the ground, Ellis thought a grenade had been thrown.

Seconds after it became apparent that Kennedy was shot, Ellis and another motorcycle officer led the police chief's car and the presidential limousine on a breakneck run to Parkland Memorial Hospital. "I don't remember looking at the speedometer, but we were going way too fast," Ellis later recalled. "As we approached Harry Hines, it was almost a square turn. ... I was hoping that I'd stay on the ground going around that."

The Ellis family had emigrated from Greece. The family name, Eliopoulis, was shortened to Ellis by immigration agents at Ellis Island. In 1946, Ellis joined the Dallas Police Department. He became a solo motorcycle officer in 15 months and was promoted to sergeant in 1952, following heroic action in which he cut the fuse to sticks of dynamite that had been thrown under an occupied house.

Ellis was nearly killed in a 1954 motorcycle training accident. He sustained serious head injuries and lost consciousness for 18 days. Dallas motorcycle officers were required to wear helmets after his accident. In 1957, he was in charge of the unit that tested the first radar guns in Dallas. Ellis retired in 1976.

August 12, 2005 at age 87. Congestive heart failure.

Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe >permalink<

Oldest professional baseball player

Double Duty The game of baseball is a mixture of legend and achievement. It was said that Radcliffe could throw 105 mile-an-hour pitches and hit mosquitos flying over the outside corner of the plate. While serving as a catcher, his chest protector read "Thou Shalt Not Steal."

Radcliffe was given his nickname by sports writer Damon Runyon after catching Satchel Paige in the first game of a doubleheader in the 1932 Negro League World Series and pitching a shutout in the second game.

Radcliffe was raised in Mobile, Alabama, and went on to play for more than 30 Negro league teams in 36 years, starting in 1928. Radcliffe once roomed with Jackie Robinson with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945, two years before Robinson broke baseball's colour barrier in the majors.

A six-time all-star -- three times as a pitcher and three times as a catcher -- Radcliffe outlived his contemporaries in the Negro Leagues and players from his era in the majors. As a pitcher he was known to throw many pitches now deemed illegal, including the emery ball, the cut ball and the spitter.

Radcliffe and members of the Negro Leagues travelled across the U.S. when social attitudes hardly favoured persons of colour. Once while fueling a team car in Waycross, Georgia, the players sought to drink from a hose used to wash cars. The owner of the gas station cursed them and demanded, "Put that hose down -- that's for white folks to drink."

Radcliffe lived most of the last half of twentieth century in obscurity until 1990, when news media reported how he and his wife had been beaten and robbed while living in a gang-infested housing project on Chicago's South Side. The Baseball Assistance Team, which aids needy former players, and the Chicago mayor's office helped the Radcliffes move into a church-run residence for the elderly.

August 11, 2005 at age 103. Cancer.

Kay Tremblay >permalink<

Actress

Born in Scotland, Tremblay's career began in Britain where she performed on London stages and throughout Europe with a touring company. World War II forced her to return to England, where she met and married Canadian Raoul Tremblay. After the war, they moved to Montreal and Kay resumed her craft playing such stages as the Stratford Festival of Canada (receiving a Guthrie Award for her work). Her first film appearance was in the 1964 short "Phoebe," and she was soon seen in episodes of maple-leaf TV favourites "The Beachcombers," "Night Heat," "Street Legal" and "Diamonds." Among her notable film credits are 1995's "National Lampoon's Senior Trip," and 1970's "Flesh Feast" (Veronica Lake's last film). She has also appeared in commercials for Nestle Crunch and Lipton Soupworks.

But to fans of the Lucy Maud Montgomery series "Road to Avonlea," Tremblay will always be "Aunt Eliza," a role she played for nearly a decade. As the King Family's elderly aunt, Tremblay picked up a Gemini Award as best supporting actress. She had been previously been nominated for a guest appearance on "Night Heat." Tremblay also played "Cousin Jessie" in the "Wind At My Back" series.

Tremblay's father, William McAllister, played "Doodles" - a popular clown with the Blackpool Tower Circus in the 1920s.

August 9, 2005 at age 91.

Peter Jennings >permalink<

News reporter

He was the Canadian face of American television news. For over 25 years, Peter Jennings tended the electronic hearth alongside Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw, bringing the news home to America. All three started within a two-year period in the early 1980s, but Jennings was the last to leave the desk, bringing to an end a generation of television anchormen. Jennings died August 7, 2005 at the age of 67 from lung cancer.

For more about Peter Jennings and his career, visit the Last Link Peter Jennings tribute page.

John Carruthers >permalink<

Photography school founder

Although John Carruthers made his mark in Boston, he was born in Saskatchewan. His father worked for the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and after moving from town to town across the prairies, his family finally settled in Calgary. Taking up an interest in filmmaking, Carruthers hitchhiked to Boston. He laced up for Boston University's hockey team and was known as a standout player. He also earned a master's degree in motion picture production.

Throughout the 1960s, Carruthers carried a camera with him, capturing the sights and sounds of his adopted city. His house was eventually filled with film canisters and videos of news events and Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins games.

As a cinematographer, he helped earn an Oscar nomination for the 1966 documentary "The Face of a Genius," a portrayal of the life and work of playwright Eugene O'Neill. He joined WBZ-TV as a film editor working on numerous documentaries made by the station. WBZ-TV's radio arm was the first licensed station in the United States and began broadcasting on September 19, 1921. WBZ carried the first hockey to be transmitted over radio, a Bruins games played on December 1, 1924 (who Boston played against is lost to history, but the team's record that year was 6 wins and 24 losses).

Recognising the need for a serious photography school in Boston, Carruthers borrowed money from his in-laws and founded the New England School of Photography in 1968. While he was a popular figure with students, he did what he could to avoid actually having to teach the classes or to appear even as just a guest speaker.

In the mid-1980s, Carruthers started a neighborhood video store. His personal taste in movies ran to war histories.

August 4, 2005 at age 69. Cancer.

Ernest "Smokey" Smith >permalink<

Last Canadian to hold the Victoria Cross

Ernest Ernest Smith was Canada's last living Victoria Cross recipient. He is credited for single-handedly fighting off German tanks and dozens of troops on a road beside the Savio River in Italy on October 21, 1944. He was promoted to the rank of corporal nine times, and nine times he was busted back to private. Word of his fondness for Scotch led military police to confine him to a jail prior to his meeting with King George VI in London. Smith died August 3, 2005 at the age of 91.

For more about Ernest "Smokey" Smith and war-time exploits, visit the Last Link Ernest "Smokey" Smith tribute page.

Rick Taylor >permalink<

Television cameraman

During the first week of August, 2005, three tragedies fell upon a lake just a 45-minute drive west of Edmonton, Alberta: a woman trapped under an overturned boat, a television news cameraman covering her story, and a day later, the lake itself.

On Saturday, July 31 an unidentified 53-year-old Calahoo woman was rescued from a capsized boat on Lake Wabamun. She died August 2, succumbing to injuries received after being taken off life support at Edmonton's University hospital. Citytv dispatched Taylor and a reporter to the lake to provide background coverage for the story of the woman's death. Upon arriving at the lake, Taylor began experiencing chest pains and collapsed. Taylor was stabilised by paramedics and was taken to nearby Stony Plain hospital, where a decision was made to transfer him to the Royal Alexandra hospital in Edmonton where he died.

Taylor was a news industry veteran, and began working for the Edmonton Citytv station when it was operating as the Craig Media outlet "A-Channel" in 2001.

On August 3, 2005, 43 Canadian National rail cars jumped a track within 25 meters of Lake Wabamun, spilling 700,000 litres of Bunker C fuel oil, and up to 70,000 litres of an oil (a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) that is used to treat utility poles, into the lake. Area residents, who attempted property clean up and animal rescue, did not know for several days of the carcenogenic properties of the pole oil. Investigation at several levels of government are taking place at the time of this posting to determine culpability in the handling of the resulting ecological and human health disaster.

Lake Wabamun is a popular Edmonton area recreational lake, and one of the largest in the province of Alberta. Concern about the lake's ecological state has been an issue for several decades with three coal-fired TransAlta power generating stations being located on its shores.

August 3, 2005 at age 51. Heart attack.

final credits - august 2005