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R.I.P. Tag

On Friday it was announced that Senator John McCain had decided to forgo further medical treatments. Tonight he died. Unfortunately, his death will be politicized in many directions. I'll just hope that after an eventful and full life, he rests in peace.

Earlier today we blogged, based on a report by CBS News, that rocker Tom Petty had passed away. As we and the rest of country later learned, thanks to Hollywood gossip rag TMZ, CBS News was wrong and while he remains in critical condition, Petty is still alive.

Mitchell Flint, a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot during World War II who later became a founding member of Israel’s legendary first fighter squadron and flew dozens of missions on behalf of the fledgling Jewish state during its 1948 War of Independence, died of natural causes on Saturday (September 16) at his home in Los Angeles. In several prior posts, we described how Flint and other non-Israeli volunteers played a key role during the second phase of the 1948 war, when the combined armies of five Arab states threatened to overrun and cripple Israel and “throw the Jews into the sea”:

Harry Dean Stanton wasn't a leading man type, but he was versatile and could play complex characters in any genre. His credits include The Godfather II, Alien, Escape from New York, Repo Man, and Pretty in Pink, just to name a few. He passed away of natural causes yesterday at the age of 91.

The horror movie genre has lost another great. First we lose George Romero. Now the Los Angeles County Coroner announced that Tobe Hooper is dead at the age of 74. They did not releases the cause of death. Hooper shot to fame with Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1974. He followed that up with the TV movie Salem's Lot in 1979, based on the Stephen King novel, and Poltergeist in 1982.

Comedic legend Jerry Lewis has died at the age of 91. He shot to fame with his teammate Dean Martin and gained notoriety in The Nutty Professor. Most of the younger generations have come to known him through his annual Labor Day telethon to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy.

George Romero, the father of the zombie horror genre, passed away last Sunday at the age of 77. Romero burst onto the scene in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead, which cost only $100,000 to produce and broke a barrier when he casted an African-American male in the lead heroic role.

Celebrated and loved actor Martin Landau passed away on Sunday at the age of 89, only a few hours after we received the devastating news that George Romero died. Landau proved through the course of his career that he could perform any role handed to him. His talents didn't end there. He handed off his brilliance to up and coming actors like Jack Nicholson.

Flounder has died. CNN reports:
Stephen Furst, the actor who played the hapless, beanie-wearing frat boy Flounder in the 1978 movie "Animal House," has died at age 63, his son, Nathan Furst, told CNN on Saturday. "It was from complications from diabetes," Nathan Furst said. "Over the last several years it was getting worse a little bit. Sort of the typical things that tend to happen when you have diabetes a long time."