Robert (Bob) Ellis who worked for many years as a youth service worker/supervisor at St.Christopher House (now West Neighbourhod House) in Toronto where he coached lacrosse, basketball and other sports, died at his home on December 18 last. He was 82. His wife, Estelle, said he had been suffering with cancer. After retiring from St. […]
Black Stalin, who has died aged 81, was a modern calypsonian of the old school, dedicated to keeping political and social commentary at the heart of his music when other exponents of the art were becoming purveyors of frivolous party music. His determination to stick to what he saw as the righteous course allowed Stalin […]
By Lincoln DePradine Dr Ira Moulton Taylor spent several decades pastoring in various places, from Antigua and Trinidad in the Caribbean to Toronto and Maryland in North America. He died December 29 in Toronto, two days short of his 101st birthday. However, those who knew Taylor – a national of St Kitts & Nevis – […]
Pele, football’s first global superstar, has died at the age of 82. To many fans, the Brazilian will be remembered as the best to have ever played the game. For others it goes further: He was the symbol of football played with passion, gusto and a smile. Indeed, he helped to forge an image of […]
“Black Stalin” (Leroy Calliste), the Trinidadian calypsonian, popularly known as “The Caribbean Man,” died at his home on December 28 last after a long illness. He was 81. In 2014, he suffered a stroke which affected his speech and movement on the right side of his body. ‘Black Stalin’ was crowned calypso monarch in Trinidad […]
Barbados-born calypso artiste Francine Edwards, better known onstage as Singing Francine, died in Queens, New York last Friday. She was 79. She was reported to have suffered a heart attack. Singing Francine won the National Calypso Queen competition in Trinidad in 1972, 1973,1981 and 1983. A news release from the Trinbago United Calypsonians Organization (TUCO) […]
By Stephen Weir Toronto’s Mas community is in utter shock after learning of the passing of Jaqueline (Jackie) Forde, a long-time designer, writer, mas camp leader and cultural champion. She passed away on Sunday. She was born in Nova Scotia, went to high school in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and attended the Ontario College of Art and Design. Mrs. […]
The American singer and actress was best known for her title track in the 1980 film Fame, as well as co-writing and singing the smash hit Flashdance… What a Feeling, for which she won an Oscar and a Grammy. She later starred in films opposite Clint Eastwood and Tatum O’Neal. Cara’s publicist, who announced her […]
Early morning hours last Tuesday, one of the most important singer-songwriters in the history of Cuba, the troubadour Pablo Milanes, who delighted millions of people around the world with his tuned guitar and unmistakable voice, passed away in Madrid. Milanes is, together with Silvio Rodriguez and Noel Nicola, one of the pivotal founders of the […]
By Lincoln DePradine Representatives from the medical fraternity will join members of the community in paying final respects to a veteran Black medical specialist Dr Robert Ogilvie, who worked for more than four decades at Humber River Regional Hospital (HRRH) in Toronto. Ogilvie, who was an ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon, died at the […]
