Global Gossip

Farrah Fawcett rocked a hardbody for many years but sadly passed away this morning at the age of 62. Farrah was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and she documented her struggles with Farrah’s Story. The documentary was viewed by nearly 9 million viewers when it aired last month.

She was one of the leading ladies in the original Charlie’s Angels and scored a slew of other roles over the years. In 1995 (she 48 years old at the time), Farrah posed topless for Playboy and the issue sold over four million copies. It was the best-selling Playboy of the 90s.

Rest in Peace Farrah.

Paul Perschmann AKA “Playboy” Buddy Rose has passed away at the age of 56.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at his home in Vancouver, WA.

Doctors say the death was from natural causes.

Rose was trained as a professional wrestler by Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in the early 1970s and worked nearly everywhere over the course of his 20-plus year career. Rose found, perhaps, his greatest success in the Pacific Northwest; however, also had successful runs in the AWA, WWF and Florida.

Rose was honored with a Men’s Wrestling award by the Cauliflower Alley Club in 2004.

Charles Lewis Jr. or as most would know him "Mask" has died in a horrific car crash.

Mask was reportedly racing another individual driving a Porsche, when his very rare $300,000 Ferrari hit a curb and was torn in half by a light pole.

There are also reports of a female passenger who has been taken to a local hospital. She was ejected from the car and is said to be in pretty bad shape.

Jan. 9^th 2009 Alan Stiles, former publisher of Men’s Fitness and Esquire magazines, parked his car along the Massachusetts Turnpike and apparently walked down the tracks in the path of an oncoming train. Of his many accomplishments Alan also helped launch ESPN The Magazine and was a top exec. at Vanity Fair and GQ.

Bodybuilding.com writer, Pete Siegel, irrepressible, enthusiastic, inspirational and warm-hearted Pete Siegel, has passed away.

Pete was a world acclaimed personal development and peak performance expert whose proven methods helped many experience unparalleled confidence, success, and personal growth.

Pete will be greatly missed,

See Pete’s background and some of his work right here.

From Julien Greaux…

"We all knew Jett at Gold’s Gym in Venice. Jett was such a great guy, always smiling making jokes, and he was also a really hard worker. He was one of the top fitness models in the world, and rightly so. He had everything for himself; personality, talent, good looks, charisma. I still can’t believe what happened to him and I am steel reeling in shock.

I spoke with him only 2 months ago and he looked so healthy. Two days ago I was training when a friend informed me of the terrible bad news - Jett had just passed way on the 7th of January. He just finished his battle against leukemia, and he thought (as we thought) that he will be ok and there was nothing more to worry about. Again he had come out as a winner, and then suddenly he was gone.

We will never forget you Jett. Your cover of Fitness RX is hung on the wall close to my cover at Golds Gym in Venice. I will say hi each time before each of my training session. I’ll miss you bro."

A website has been built in memory of Jett. You can visit it here http://www.forjett.com

As you may or may not of heard UFC vet Justin Eilers has left us in an unfortunate turn of events over the Christmas Holiday.

It was about 10:30 last night that the incident occurred. James Robert Malec is being charged with second degree murder and is currently being held at the Canyon County Jail.

Eilers has been in the fight game for along time and will be missed.

Many prayers go out to his family, and everyone here at Bodybuilding.com sends their condolences.

Eilers (19 - 6 - 1) in his career fought such stars as Andre Arvloski and Brandon Vera and was 3-3 in the UFC/WEC.

He was an Idaho native who went on to play football at Iowa State University before returning to the fight game and making a career out of it. He has been training with Miletech for some time now and was loved by the many he trained with.

Well another sad day in the world of Bodybuilding, the passing of Kenny Kassel. It is said that the cause of his passing was from Congestive Heart Failure.

Kenny was a man of many talents, announcer, talent manager, promoter and NPC/IFBB official. He was dedicated and passionate about the sport and did everything for the simple fact that he loved it.

R.I.P Kenny

For more on Kenny check out Iron Man Magazine

The bodybuilding/fitness world has lost another long time contributor. I received word from multiple people that Kenny passed away. The details surrounding his death are not known at this time.

Competitors know him from helping out backstage, emceeing as well as having his own talent agency.

Rest in Peace Kenny.

Kenny was a contributor to bodybuilding.com and will be missed.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kkassel.htm

I’m so sorry I didn’t post this sooner, but I wanted to let you all know that two weeks ago, Jennifer Gates’ husband, Derek Gates, passed away.

I can’t even begin to describe the pain and sorrow Jenn, her kids, and the rest of her family are feeling right now. From her winning the biggest title in figure… to this. It’s moments like this that remind us to never take life for granted and always tell the ones you love that we love them are there for them, because no one is promised tomorrow. Everyone out there, take this time to send a small prayer to the Gates family as they truly need our support as a community. Send her an email or MySpace comment. Let her know that the Gates family is in our thoughts.

Derek Gates… may you rest in peace. May God watch over you in Heaven. To Jennifer and the rest of the family… May God be with you during this difficult time. We’re all here for you.

More info here:

http://www.hardbody.com/news/2008/12/09/thoughts-and-prayers-go-out-to-jennifer-gates-family/

The fitness world lost one of its greatest assets on October 17th, 2008. The co-founder of the IFBB, Ben Weider, passed away this past Friday.  He was 85 years of age.

Many people know who Ben is, as he was a familiar face at many IFBB pro events, including the Olympia and the Arnold each year.  Ben, along with his brother Joe, started the IFBB over 50 years ago.

IFBB Icon Ben Weider: February 1, 1923 – October 17, 2008.

Read more about Ben Weider and his contributions here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ben_weider_passes_away.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ben_weider_passes_away2.htm

http://www.paperman.com/cgi-bin/services.cgi?f=ShowService&dbid=3035

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/benweiderpodcast.htm

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-weider19-2008oct19,0,4877360.story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Weider

http://www.getbig.com/articles/faq-wdr.htm

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=d35344d0-babf-4951-8e2e-d188f2d25117

http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/blogs/lonnie/?p=622

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/weiderhighlight.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ben_weider_award.htm

http://www.hardbody.com/news/2008/10/18/rest-in-peace-ifbb-co-founder-ben-weider/

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ben-weider-bodybuilding-pioneer-napoleonic/story.aspx?guid={52716CCA-64A3-424D-A98D-6B30DD9DEAAF}&dist=hppr

The bodybuilding and figure world lost one of its greatest assets on September 26, 2008. The head expediter for the IFBB/NPC, Steve Stone, died suddenly prior to the finals for the 2008 Olympia.

Most people do not know who Steve was, but if you ever competed at the national or pro levels, you knew who made the shows run as smoothly as they did.

Show Expediter Steve Stone Passed Away 9/26/2008.

Read more about this tragedy here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/steve_stone_death.htm

http://www.ifbbpro.com/news/steve-stone/

http://www.flexonline.com/steve_stone_obituary/news/582

One of the reasons Jen told us that she was doing the Olympia was for her step brother, Todd. She reminded me that life is short and you never know when your health may be stripped from you.

Todd was battling cancer and recently found out that his chemotherapy did not work. Earlier this week the doctors gave him 2 weeks to 2 months to live. Unfortunately, Todd passed away last night.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jen and her family.

I originally wrote this on HARDBODY.com but I wanted to share this tragedy with the bodybuilding world here. Many of you know Amanda and followed her career. It is with great sadness I report this new.

I’ve been on the phone all morning with those closest to Amanda Jo. Everyone’s story is consistent at this point. The last time anyone heard from Amanda Jo was on Monday night. Her family and friends tried to reach her but there was no response. They contacted the police and filed a missing person’s report as this was unlike her. She hadn’t been to the gym in a couple days and Amanda never missed a workout. When she hadn’t logged onto myspace or been to the gym, friends knew something was wrong. She was preparing to do the Europa Super show, a show which she had won two times before.

Amanda was very close to her family and her father’s health had been failing as of late. AJ loved to be on her MYSPACE page. She enjoyed using the “mood” feature on the site and checked her email there several times a day. I had been talking with Amanda about her returning to the stage and we were planning out a photo shoot for the Europa. I’m numb as I write this as she was an amazing woman who I cared about as did many in and out of the fitness industry. She was anxious to return to competition and show everyone how hard she’d been working since the Olympia. We joked about being hungry and how dieting can be challenging.

News is still being collected but it appears her ex-boyfriend Dave Jacobs shot her and then turned the gun on himself. The two were found in his home of Texas. Dave Jacobs has been in the news over a steroid bust and was recently convicted for the incident. Despite friends and family encouraging Amanda to keep her distance from him she fell back into his control several times. Dave’s mentality was one that if he couldn’t have Amanda Jo no one would and at this point it appears he took it to the ultimate extreme.

UPDATE: the New York Times article is now available.

The NPC and IFBB lost a dear friend this week when John Organ passed away in his Florida apartment. I loved this guy, he was always easy going and upbeat. I covered the West Palm Beach show for the last two years and it was always a pleasure. Just last weekend I was telling a makeup artist friend of mine that I was going to make the trip a bit longer and do photo shoots on the beach again. The show’s future is still undecided at this point but I will keep you posted on any news. John will be missed by many and at age 49 you never know when your time is up.

Rest in Peace my friend.

Below is the information for his funeral arrangements as well as his obituary. You can leave a tribute to him and his family here. Thanks to Bodysport.com for the link.

Visitation:
Sunday May 25, 2008
2:00 pm until time of Service

Visitation Location:
Quattlebaum Funeral Home, 1201 South Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33401.

Service Date:
Sunday May 25, 2008 3:00 PM

Service Location:
A Reception will be held at the Funeral Home immediately following the Service

John Porter Organ, 49 years old, of West Palm Beach, FL, died at his home on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 following sudden cardiac arrest. Born in Hammond, Indiana, he was a resident of the Palm Beach area since 1963 and graduated Forest Hill High School, Class of 1976. John was a well known Personal Fitness Trainer who operated “Bodies Are My Business”; and was a trainer at Ultima Fitness Downtown. He was also a Nationally Accredited Judge for fitness competitions; and organized and promoted many bodybuilding and fitness shows.

John is survived by his mother, Joan M. Leary (James) of Lake Worth, FL; and father, Orlin J. Organ, Jr. of Eldorado, IL; four siblings, Gary Organ of McLeansboro, IL, Sherry L. Fieser (Brad) of Deland, FL, David L. Organ of Lake Worth, FL, and William “Joey” Thomas (Gena) of Tallahassee, FL; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A Memorial Service will be held at 3:00 PM on Sunday, May 25, 2008 at Quattlebaum Funeral Home, 1201 South Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 with Rev. William Michaels, Associate Pastor of Trinity Church International, officiating. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Sunday beginning at 2:00 PM, and at a Reception immediately following the Service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in John’s memory to: American Diabetes Association, Memorial Program ADA, 1500 West Cypress Creek Road, Suite 104, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309 www.diabetes.org.