Brazilian football legend Pelé dies at age 82

News  |  Football

Pele, who had a tumour removed from his colon last year, passed away in a Sao Paolo hospital, his agent said.

Brazilian football legend Pele poses with the FIFA World Cup trophy on March 9, 2014 in Paris. Franck Fife | AFP | Getty Images

Pelé, the legendary Brazilian football player who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history, has died at the age of 82.

Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein hospital, where Pelé was undergoing treatment, said he died at 3:27pm (18:27 GMT) on Thursday “due to multiple organ failures resulting from the progression of colon cancer associated with his previous medical condition.”

The death of the only man to win the World Cup three times as a player was confirmed on his Instagram account.

“Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today,” the post read.

Brazil's Pelé wears his national team's jersey in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 25, 1962. (AP photo, File)

Pelé, whose real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was remembered for his wide-ranging accomplishments, both on and off the football field.

The memorial post on Pelé’s social media page highlighted the star’s international appeal, referencing an incident during the Nigerian civil war when opposing factions agreed to a ceasefire in order to enjoy a match Pelé played in the country.

“On his journey, Edson enchanted the world with his genius in sport, stopped a war, carried out social works all over the world and spread what he most believed to be the cure for all our problems: love. His message today becomes a legacy for future generations,” it read.

A public funeral is set to be held outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the Vila Belmiro Stadium, where he played for many years with the Santos football club. The casket is set to pass in front of the house of his 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, before being placed in the center of the field.

The public will be able to pay their respects there on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Tributes poured in from around the world for the late football legend, including one from his daughter, documentary filmmaker Kely Nascimento. She posted a photograph to her Instagram showing family members holding his hand as he rested in a hospital bed.

Brazilian soccer star Pelé waves to admirers, as he and his bride Rosemeri ride in a traditional horse-drawn carriage as they tour Salzburg, Austria, Feb. 25, 1966 (AP Photo/Klaus Frings, File)

“Everything we are is thanks to you,” Nascimento wrote. “We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”

Medical reports indicated that Pelé passed away due to multiple organ failure, as a result of his battle with colon cancer. He had been hospitalised with multiple ailments, including a respiratory infection, and was also suffering from heart and kidney problems.

Pelé had a tumour removed from his colon in September 2021. He was admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo on November 29.

Doctors there said his colon cancer was showing “progression” and he needed “more extensive care to treat kidney and heart failure”.

Pelé, seen by many as the most talented footballer to ever play the game, led Brazil to a trio of World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He remains Brazil’s leading goal scorer, with 77 goals in 92 games.

Following Argentina’s World Cup win on December 18 in Qatar, Pelé posted a picture on social media of their team lifting the trophy and hailed performances from captain Lionel Messi, France’s rising star Kylian Mbappe and surprise semifinalists Morocco.

“Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way,” he said. “What a gift it was to watch this spectacle of the future of our sport.”

Brazil players and fans in Qatar also unfurled banners on and off the pitch with an image of the football great and wishes for his recovery.

First published at Aljazeer, December 29, 2022

Sesame Street actor Bob McGrath, who played Bob Johnson, dies aged 90

Bob McGrath (right), who played Bob Johnson on Sesame Street, was involved in the children's
show for five decades. (AP Photo: Chris Pizzello)

McGrath's family shared on Facebook that he died peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones, on December 4.

He was a founding cast member on Sesame Street when the show premiered in 1969, in his role as a friendly neighbour.

His final appearance on the show was in 2017, marking an almost five-decade-long stint as part of the much-loved children's show.

Sesame Workshop — the non-profit organisation behind the TV show — paid tribute to McGrath on Twitter.

"Bob embodied the melodies of Sesame Street like no one else, and his performances brought joy and wonder to generations of children around the world … whether teaching them the ABCs, the people in their neighbourhood, or the simple joy of feeling music in their hearts," the organisation said.

"A revered performer worldwide, Bob's rich tenor filled airwaves and concert halls from Las Vegas to Saskatchewan to Tokyo many times over.

McGrath grew up in Illinois and studied music at the University of Michigan and Manhattan School of Music.

He also was a singer in the 60s series Sing Along With Mitch and launched a successful singing career overseas, in Japan.

Sesame Street actor Alan Muraoka paid tribute to McGrath as his role model, mentor and friend.

"His kindness and wicked sense of humour were such a joy, and I loved him so much," he said on Facebook.

"Rest well my friend. You did good”.

First published a ABC News December 5, 2022

Canberra pianist Ronan Apcar at National Young Virtuoso Award's final

by Helen Musa

CANBERRA pianist Ronan Apcar, winner of the ACT Young Virtuoso Award held at ArtSound in September, has taken out second place at the competition’s National Young Virtuoso Award final, behind Victorian pianist Anna Gao. Apcar, one of our brightest and best, also won a Canberra Critics Circle Award recently and is now off to bigger things at the Australian National Academy of Music.

Winners…virtuoso pianists Anna Gao and Ronan Apcar.

First published at citynews.com.au, December 6, 2022

Documentary review: ‘Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind,’ a heartfelt ode to a Canadian icon

By KEVIN CRUST |PLANNING EDITOR 

JULY 29, 2020 1:32 PM PT

FOR our neighbours to the north, the documentary “Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind” reaffirms the Canadian singer-songwriter’s position as a national treasure. U.S. audiences will be reminded of the power of an artist who was once a radio staple and regularly sold out shows at the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theatre and Universal Amphitheatre whenever he came to L.A.

Gordon Lightfoot. Photo: Erin Leydon, torontolife.com

Written and directed by Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni, the film is smartly structured around notable songs in the Gordon Lightfoot catalog, charting his journey from small-town, post-World War II Ontario to the coffee houses of 1960s Toronto and his chart-topping run of hits in the 1970s, as the gifted musician found success across the folk, country, rock and pop realms.

Known for his distinctive baritone and emotion-rich songs about heartbreak and betrayal (“If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown”), isolation (“Early Morning Rain,” “Song for a Winter’s Night”) and trains and ships (“Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’, Lightfoot connected to Canada’s roots in a way that holds new analogs.

Canadian musicians, including Ronnie Hawkins, Ian and Sylvia Tyson (the former folk duo, now divorced), Anne Murray, Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush, Tom Cochrane and Sarah McLachlan, attest to that connection in the documentary, along with observations from Americans Steve Earle, Greg Graffin of Bad Religion and (somewhat inexplicably) Alec Baldwin. Bandmates and Lightfoot’s contemporary, Murray McLauchlan, offer insights into his creative process, but it is the man himself who reveals the most about his work ethic and the price he paid for that devotion.

The five-time Grammy nominee and 2012 inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, who studied and learned to write music at an early age, earned perhaps his strongest endorsement from the peers who have covered his songs. Attracted by the poetic lyrics and strong craftsmanship, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Peter, Paul and Mary are among the many who have recorded Lightfoot compositions.

The thrice-married Lightfoot is an affable, introspective and frank subject, acknowledging mistakes made along the way in both art and love, and the intertwined nature of the two pursuits. In the film’s opening scene, after watching a vintage television performance of the 1965 confessional “For Lovin’ Me,” he declares, “I hate that [expletive] song,” dismayed not by the quality of his writing but the revealing content about his first marriage.

Kehoe and Tosoni weave together a bounty of archival footage and photographs to visually capture Lighfoot’s performances across his almost six-decade career. Any detail lost in the documentary’s nontraditional narrative is more than made up for by the powerful emotions it churns up, particularly during a 2018 concert at Toronto’s venerable Massey Hall just before it closed for renovations (nicely established with ghostly imagery during a striking opening titles sequence).

“Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind” is a thoroughly engaging retrospective of a hard-working, hard-living performer who survived to tell the tale. Overcoming alcoholism in his 40s and a near-death experience, Lightfoot learned to embrace life, accept regret and at age 81, is ready to get back out on the road.

Kevin Crust 

Now in his second tour with the Los Angeles Times, totalling more than 25 years, Kevin Crust is the planning editor for Entertainment and Arts. He previously served as deputy film editor and staff writer. A lifelong Southern Californian and a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s, he spends way too much time analysing baseball statistics.

Article first published in The Los Angeles Times, July 29, 2020