Hello, vic444-ga!
I spent countless hours on your question, hoping to find a long list
of famous people who are in some way associated with Pulmonary
Fibrosis. Unfortunately, for a disease that affects over 5 million
individuals worldwide, there is a shortage of "famous" names that are
often needed to attract the public outcry for funding so necessary to
help combat illnesses of this nature. I was both surprised and
disappointed that there appears to be no "celebrity" spokesperson who
has vowed to take up this cause.
Actors Marlon Brando, James Doohan, Gordan Jump and Jerry Lewis are
the most high-profile celebrities placing a face on this horrible
disease. Other sufferers, though less widely-known, are still
prominent in specific circles.
I hope that the following names are helpful for your research. I also
hope that your question will help to attract some attention to this
illness. I got so wrapped up in my research that I was forced to stop
only when I kept stumbling over the same names over and over again.
*************************************************
CELEBRITIES ASSOCIATED WITH PULMONARY FIBROSIS
*************************************************
ROBERT J. AVRECH - SCREENWRITER - (Son died of PF)
====================================================
"Hollywood screenwriter Robert J. Avrech (Body Double, The Devil's
Arithmetic) has started a publishing company, Seraphic Press, to
encourage novels written for religiously observant Jewish children.
The project is in memory of his late son Ariel, who died last year of
pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 22, while awaiting a lung
transplant."
From "La Observed." - http://www.laobserved.com/archive/001922.html
Also see "Silence." http://seraphicpress.blogspot.com/2004/06/silence.html
DAME JUDI DENCH - ACTRESS - (Spokesperson for BLF)
==================================================
Judi Dench is a spokesperson for the British Lung Foundation which
includes Pulmonary Fibrosis among it's concerns. "I was delighted to
welcome Dame Judi Dench as our first BLF Special Supporter. We hope
many more celebrities will wish to join her in this role. Dame Judi
has already made a significant contribution the charity, both through
a generous donation and hosting a private screening of Die Another
Day, for which we are extremely grateful."
From "British Lung Foundation Annual Review." 2002-2003
http://www.britishlungfoundation.org/downloads/BLF_annual_review_2002-2003.pdf
TOMMY LEE JONES - ACTOR
========================
"Will Rogers Institute's 2003 Summer Fund-Rasing Campaign hosted by
Tommy Lee Jones raised a record-breaking $3.7 million for pulmonary
research and education."
http://www.wrinstitute.org/assets/WRIHum_wtrspg2004.pdf
The Will Rogers Institute is a "national health organization dedicated
to the support of lung research and developing new treatments and
cures for pulmonary diseases and disorders."
http://www.wrinstitute.org/about/index.html
CLAY AIKEN - SINGER - (lost father to PF)
==========================================
"Last year, Aiken learned his father was gravely ill with the lung
disease pulmonary fibrosis. He died on July 4. It hit the family hard,
Parker said."
From "His star rises with each round on 'Idol'," by Leigh Dyer.
Charlotte Observer. (2003)
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/5434949.htm?1c
AOIFE CLANCY - The Aoife Clancy Band - (lost father to PF)
==========================================================
"My dad passed away on September 6th, 2002. He was diagnosed with
pulmonary fibrosis in 1999 and knew that his time was not long. I
honestly believe that playing his banjo and singing every day
prolonged his life, and I feel very lucky to have had not only a great
mentor but also a man who lived life to its fullest and imparted to me
a great love of music."
From "About Bobby Clancy." http://www.aoifeclancy.com/father.htm#
JOE NICHOLS - COUNTRY MUSIC ARTIST - (lost father to PF)
==========================================================
"Just as he celebrates the meteoric rise of his debut single, "The
Impossible", up the charts, JOE NICHOLS has suffered the loss of his
father on Tuesday. 46-year-old Mike Nichols passed away in King, North
Carolina, from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis according to Nichols?
media reps. Nichols recently told countrystars.com about his dad?s
condition saying, "He has pulmonary fibrosis which is a permanent
scarring of the heart and lungs and he?s in pretty bad shape. They
don?t really know what it came from. After all the tests over the past
few years they don?t know what caused it or even how to cure it or if
there?s anything anybody can do." Nichols credits his father with
being the original inspiration for his desire to be a musician."
From "Rising Star's Father Passes Away." CMT Canada
http://www.cmtcanada.com/artists/artist.asp?artistID=121§ion=news&newsID=2308
*******************************************
CELEBRITIES LIVING WITH PULMONARY FIBROSIS
*******************************************
JAMES DOOHAN - STAR TREK
=========================
"As a dedicated trekkie myself, it is with respect and sadness that I
report the actor, James Doohan aged 84, has been diagnosed with early
stage Alzheimer's. Known to most of us as Scotty, James Doohan has
been experiencing memory loss problems for a number of months. His
doctors have been investigating the causes of this whilst treating him
for a number of other serious medical conditions namely Parkinson's
disease, diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis.
From "Star Trek's Scotty diagnosed with Alzheimer's," by Christine
Kennard. About.com http://alzheimers.about.com/od/diagnosisissues/a/Scotty.htm
JERRY LEWIS - ACTOR/COMEDIAN
=============================
"In May 2001, Lewis was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, scarring of
the tissue separating the lungs' air sacs. Doctors put him on the
steroid prednisone, which helps him breathe but left him 50 pounds
heavier and ballooned his waist from a trim 33 inches to 51 inches."
From "Comedy Is the Source of Pain for Jerry Lewis," By Adam Marcus.
HealthScoutNews Reporter. http://www.hon.ch/News/HSN/510223.html
****************************************************
CELEBRITIES DEATHS ATTRIBUTED TO PULMONARY FIBROSIS
****************************************************
GORDON JUMP - ACTOR
====================
"Gordon Jump, 71, the endearing, round-faced stage and TV character
actor who played a string of muddled but lovable roles (including the
station owner on TV's "WKRP in Cincinnati") over a four-decade career,
Sept. 22 of pulmonary fibrosis."
From "In Memoriam 2003: Playbill On-Line Recalls Theatre Folk Who
Passed On," By Kenneth Jones. Playbill News. Dec. 2003
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/83549.html
MARLON BRANDO - ACTOR
=======================
"Marlon Brando's death July 1, 2004 at UCLA Medical Center was caused
by pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that involves scarring of the
lungs."
From "Marlon Brando Biography Page." About.com
http://losangeles.about.com/od/famouspeoplecelebrities/a/marlonbrando.htm?terms=marlon+brando
LOTHAR KLEIN - COMPOSER
========================
"Lothar Klein - Highly regarded contemporary composer, whose
compositions, numbering in the hundreds, were performed by some of the
foremost conductors and orchestras in Canada, the United States and
Europe, who attempted to find parallel points of reference between old
and new music, and thereby comment on music's historical continuity,
and who recorded numerous albums including 2003's "The Philosopher in
the Kitchen", died Jan. 3 in Toronto of pulmonary fibrosis at age 71."
Life in Legacy - http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/2004/WIR20040124.html
MARY JANE RUSSEL - MODEL
=========================
"Mary Jane Russell - Leading fashion model of the 1940s and 50s, who
worked for the Ford Agency for 13 years, appeared in dozens of covers
of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and who, though just 5-foot-6, possessed
a long neck and classic features that suited the era's elegant mood,
died Nov. 20 in Charleston, SC of pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 77.
Life in Legacy - http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/2003/WIR20031213.html
PETER STONE - WRITER
=====================
"The man behind hit movie Charade has died in New York, aged 73. Peter
Stone, who won an Oscar, an Emmy and three Tony awards during his
esteemed career, died of pulmonary fibrosis in New York's Cornell
Hospital. As well as penning Charade, Stone also wrote the Titanic
musical and 1776, and he also revived Annie Get Your Gun in late 1999.
Stone won an Oscar in 1964 for co-writing World War Two comedy Father
Goose, which starred Cary Grant."
From "News for Charade (1963)." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056923/news
LOU FANT - ACTOR
================
"Louie Judson Fant, Jr., 69, a renowned actor and advocate for the
deaf community, died June 11 at the University of Washington Medical
Center in Seattle of complications from pulmonary fibrosis. Fant was
well known for his work as cofounder of the Registry of Interpreters
of the Deaf and the National Theater of the Deaf, and for his acting
roles in more than 30 movies and television programs, including
'General Hospital' and 'Little House on the Prairie."
From "Noted actor, advocate Lou Fant dies." On the Green. Issue: June
29, 2001 - Vol. 31 No. 18
http://pr.gallaudet.edu/otg/BackIssues.asp?ID=720
BILL BRIGHT - EVANGELIST
=========================
"William R. "Bill" Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, the
world?s largest Christian ministry, died today from complications
related to pulmonary fibrosis. He was 81."
From "William R. "Bill" Bright, Founder of World's Largest Christian
Ministry Dies." http://billbright.ccci.org/public/
JOHN RITTER - ACTOR
====================
Although Ritter's death is widely attributed to a torn heart valve,
the Kansas State Collegian has associated his death with pulmonary
fibrosis -"Pulmonary fibrosis is the same ailment that killed fellow
TV actor John Ritter last week."
From the Kansas State Collegian (2003)
http://www.kstatecollegian.com/stories/092403/new_jump.shtml
BOYD BENNETT - MUSICIAN
========================
"Boyd Bennett was a pioneer in the music industry. He will be missed
by thousands of people he touched with not only his unique music, but
also his caring, giving sensitivity to people. In 1955, he wrote and
sang the first two teenage rock & roll hits "Seventeen" and "My Boy
Flattop". Over 3 million copies were sold, instantly making him
wealthy beyond his wildest dreams....Boyd trained at the San Diego
Naval Training Center and served on different Navy troop transports.
He suffered a severe leg wound in the Solomon Islands. Unfortunately,
he did not realize until later that his lungs and those of all his
shipmates were filled with deadly asbestos dust from the insulation on
the exposed pipes.... Pulmonary fibrosis and mesothelioma (cancer of
the lungs) became a fatal curse of the sailors that served on navy
ships during World War II. Boyd is a miracle survivor, due to
alternative medicine therapies and the grace of God. He survived
pulmonary fibrosis for 20 years."
From "Boyd Bennett, a Rock and Roll Pioneer."
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/BoydBennett.html
GENE MOLES - GUITARIST
=======================
"Gene Moles, widely regarded as one of the best guitarists to come out
of the Bakersfield Sound era of country music, died Sunday, April 28th
at his home in east Bakersfield. He was 73. Moles suffered from
pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease. "The "doctor of
guitars," as he called himself, played with Merle Haggard, Buck Owens,
Red Simpson, Tex Ritter and many others. He also wrote surf-rock
instrumentals for The Ventures."
From "Acclaimed Guitarist Gene Moles Dies." Traditional Country Hall of Fame.
http://www.talentondisplay.com/kicpage2archives02.html
ELLA MAE EVANS - ACTRESS
==========================
Date of death - 27 January 2002, Inglewood, California, USA.
(complications from pulmonary fibrosis)
From "Earths Biggest Movie Database."
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0262732/#actress
More about Ella Mae Evans:
http://www.kittsville.org/ella_evans.htm
DANIEL CARLIN - MUSICIAN
=========================
"Daniel Adrian Carlin, who earned a music-editing Emmy Award for the
1987 miniseries "Unnatural Causes" and in the 1970s altered
Hollywood's post-production practices by founding a series of
independent music-editing companies, has died. He was 73. Carlin died
Aug. 14 at his home in Carpinteria, Calif., of complications from lung
cancer and pulmonary fibrosis, his family said."
"Among the films for which he edited the music were "Scorpio," "The
Outlaw Josey Wales," "Ghost," "Gorillas in the Mist," "Dead Poets
Society," "Fatal Attraction," "Parenthood" and "Cliffhanger." Third in
a line of five Irish American Daniel A. Carlins, he founded La Da
Music in 1972. The company, now called Segue Music and run by his son
Daniel Allen Carlin, is part of Zomba Entertainment and is considered
the leading film and television music editing company in the
business."
From "Celebrity Obituaries." November 17, 2001
http://www.gravehunter.net/obituaries.html
==
SOME OTHER "PROMINENT PEOPLE" WHO HAVE DIED FROM PULMONARY FIBROSIS as
noted on the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Website:
http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/prominent.htm
"Laurance Rockefeller, a conservationist, philanthropist and leading
figure in the field of venture capital, died in his sleep Sunday
morning July 11, 2004. He was 94. The cause of death was pulmonary
fibrosis, his spokesman Fraser Seitel said in a statement. Rockefeller
was No. 377 on this year's Forbes magazine list of 587 billionaires,
with $1.5 billion. But he was perhaps best known for his environmental
work: He served under five presidents in several capacities related to
conservation and the outdoors."
=
"William Edward Simon, who was secretary of the treasury under
President Nixon and later in life gave his entire fortune to charity,
died Saturday, June 3, 2000 in Santa Monica, California. Simon was 72
years old. Complications arising from pulmonary fibrosis were cited as
the cause of death. Simon became the secretary of the treasury in 1974
and served throughout the Ford administration. Before that, he was
President Nixon's deputy energy secretary during the height of the
Arab oil embargo."
==
"Sam Phillips, legendary owner of Sun Records and the producer who put
the names of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich and
Jerry Lee Lewis, etc, on the charts . . . died at little after 7 p.m.
July 30, 2003 of Pulmonary Fibrosis, in a Memphis hospital."
==
John Bowden Connally, Jr., thirty-eighth governor of the state of
Texas....The former governor of Texas completed his autobiography, In
History?s Shadow, shortly before his death of complications from
pulmonary fibrosis. He was in the front seat of the presidential
limousine with John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. A bullet passed
through his back, chest, wrist, and thigh. He survived but was left
with a lifelong lung condition, pulmonary fibrosis. Connally died on
June 15, 1993, at the Methodist Hospital of Houston, where he was
being treated for pulmonary fibrosis."
==
Once again - I hope that these names, though not overly abundant, are
helpful to your cause!
Sincerly,
umiat
Search Strategy
celebrity advocates for Pulmonary fibrosis
celebrity speakers for Pulmonary fibrosis
celebrities AND Pulmonary fibrosis
actor AND pulmonary fibrosis
famous for AND pulmonary fibrosis
singer pulmonary fibrosis
athlete pulmonary fibrosis
pulmonary fibrosis actress
Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis |
