Richie Havens, a seminal member of the New York folk scene of the '60s, died Monday morning from a sudden heart attack. He was 72. Havens, widely admired for his briskly rhythmic guitar style and richly textured voice, became a part of history for serving as the opening performer at the Woodstock festival in 1969. Havens transfixed the crowd at the start of that storied weekend. In a way, he had to. He was asked by the organizers to extend his set to nearly three hours to kill time since most of the other performers hadn’t yet reached the site, due to the choking crowds. Havens’ subsequent improvisation on the spiritual “Motherless Child” - threaded with his own inspired vamp of “Freedom” - become one of the festival’s signature sounds/Jim Farber, New York Daily News. More here. (AP file photo: Havens at 2008 Cannes Film Festival)

Question: Did Woodstock affect your life in any way?

Chris Carlson of the Carlson Chronicles remembers reporting on the 1972 Democratic National Convention that nominated South Dakota Sen. George McGovern:

A truly decent man had been slandered and demonized beyond belief.  Especially puzzling to many was McGovern’s failure to reference or even talk about the fact that he was a legitimate and decorated war hero having piloted a B-24 through 35 dangerous missions over Europe during World War II. Like many veterans, he’d seen war up close and understood that too often old men full of false bravado send young men off to die in the misadventures created by their bluster. What I will most remember McGovern for though is the fine, poignant and sad book he wrote, entitled Terry, about he and Eleanor losing a beloved and talented daughter to alcoholism.  It was an honest, candid, unsparing account of their ultimately unsuccessful effort to save her from her eventual premature death. More here. (AP file photo of McGovern from January 2012)

Question: Did you vote in the 1972 presidential election?

George McGovern once joked that he had wanted to run for president in the worst way – and that he had done so. It was a campaign in 1972 dishonored by Watergate, a scandal that fully unfurled too late to knock Republican President Richard M. Nixon from his place as a commanding favorite for re-election. The South Dakota senator tried to make an issue out of the bungled attempt to wiretap the offices of the Democratic National Committee, calling Nixon the most corrupt president in history. But the Democrat could not escape the embarrassing missteps of his own campaign. The most torturous was the selection of Missouri Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton as the vice presidential nominee and, 18 days later, following the disclosure that Eagleton had undergone electroshock therapy for depression, the decision to drop him from the ticket despite having pledged to back him “1,000 percent”/Associated Press. More here. (AP file photo)

Question: Did history vindicate McGovern?

With a string of gold albums, a hit TV series and the signature “Moon River,” Andy Williams was a voice of the 1960s, although not the ‘60s we usually hear about. “The old cliche says that if you can remember the 1960s, you weren’t there,” the singer once recalled. “Well, I was there all right, but my memory of them is blurred — not by any drugs I took but by the relentless pace of the schedule I set myself.” Williams’ plaintive tenor, boyish features and easy demeanor helped him outlast many of the rock stars who had displaced him and such fellow crooners as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. He remained on the charts into the 1970s, and continued to perform in his 80s at the Moon River Theatre he built in Branson, Mo. In November 2011, when Williams announced that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer, he vowed to return to performing the following year: His 75th in show business. Williams died Tuesday night at his home in Branson following a yearlong battle with the disease. He was 84/AP. More here.

Question: Were you an Andy Williams fan?

For years, Mike Darcy was the face that often greeted guests at the city of Coeur d'Alene Recreation Department. He was the man who helped organize everything from soccer to basketball to softball and flag football. He was the one who accepted the application forms and officially put the teams together for thousands of children, teens and adults. “Mike would do what was needed to make sure the job got done,” said Steve Anthony, recreation director. He will be missed. Darcy died Saturday in a hiking accident near Salmon. He was 55. Anthony said Darcy, a recreational specialist, was a respected and trusted member of the family at City Hall. He worked part time about five years before starting full time at the city rec department in 1990/Bill Buley, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (Courtesy photo from Coeur d'Alene Press)

On his Facebook page, MikeK writes of the death of former state Sen. Clyde Boatright of Rathdrum: “Politics is an interesting avocation. I campaigned with a friend against Clyde 18 years ago (he won that election) and I grumbled about his votes for years. But fast forward a decade or so, when I was in the position of dealing with elected legislators, it turned out that Clyde shot pretty straight and we got along just fine despite our differences. His word was good where I was concerned. There may not be much note of his passing, but I have to say from the other side of the aisle and a generation apart, Godspeed, Clyde. You were an honorable guy and from what I saw your peers respected you. I wish the same were true of all politicians these days. Vaya con dios.” (Jesse Tinsley 1995 SR file photo of Clyde Boatright as a freshman state senator. Boatright served 8 years in the Senate.)

Thoughts?

Mel Stuart, the Emmy-winning filmmaker and documentarian who tackled such serious subjects as the assassination of John F. Kennedy and mental illness but is perhaps best known for directing the whimsical Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, has died. He was 83. Madeline Stuart told The Associated Press that her father died Thursday night of cancer at his home in Los Angeles. .. The 1971 musical fantasy Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder, was Stuart's response to a young reader of the Roald Dahl children's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That fan was Stuart's daughter Madeline, who asked her dad to make a movie of the book she loved. With Wilder as Willy (and 11-year-old Madeline in a cameo role as a student in a classroom scene), it became an enduring family favorite/Hollywood Reporter. More here. (Wikipedia photo of poster of Gene Wilder as “Willy Wonka”)

Question: What movie featuring children is your favorite?

Marvin Hamlisch, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who imbued his movie and Broadway scores with pizazz and panache and often found his songs in the upper reaches of the pop charts, died on Monday in Los Angeles. He was 68 and lived in New York. He collapsed on Monday after a brief illness, a family friend said. For a few years starting in 1973, Mr. Hamlisch spent practically as much time accepting awards for his compositions as he did writing them. He is one of a handful of artists to win every major creative prize, some of them numerous times, including an Oscar for “The Way We Were” (1973, shared with the lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman), a Grammy as best new artist (1974), and a Tony and a Pulitzer for “A Chorus Line” (1975, shared with the lyricist Edward Kleban, the director Michael Bennett and the book writers James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante). His omnipresence on awards and talk shows made him one of the last in a line of celebrity composers that included Henry Mancini, Burt Bacharach and Stephen Sondheim/New York Times. More here. (2011 AP file photo of Hamlisch & Barbra Streisand)

Question: How did the work of composer Marvin Hamlisch impact you?

Prominent Coeur d'Alene architect R.G. “Bob” Nelson, who was known for his work designing the Hagadone Corp. headquarters building and The Coeur d'Alene Resort, died Thursday. He was 76. Kootenai County Commissioner Jai Nelson, his daughter, said his favorite project always was the one he was working on. “He'd be completely absorbed by the challenge of that project,” she said. “He was completely passionate.” He designed several buildings on the University of Idaho campus, including the award-winning student recreation center. Jai Nelson said she always admired his tenacity in life as well as his dedication to his profession. “I loved working with him,” she said. “If you stand downtown in Coeur d'Alene you can see so many of his buildings. He's really had an impact in his work”/David Cole, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (Coeur d'Alene Press courtesy photo of Hagadone HQ, designed by R.G. Nelson)

Question: Did you know R.G. Nelson?

In a world more to his liking, Gore Vidal (shown in 2009 AP file photo) might have been president, or even king. He had an aristocrat's bearing — tall, handsome and composed — and an authoritative baritone ideal for summoning an aide or courtier. But Vidal made his living — a very good living — from challenging power, not holding it. He was wealthy and famous and committed to exposing a system often led by men he knew firsthand. During the days of Franklin Roosevelt, one of the few leaders whom Vidal admired, he might have been called a “traitor to his class.” The real traitors, Vidal would respond, were the upholders of his class. The author, playwright, politician and commentator whose vast and sharpened range of published works and public remarks were stamped by his immodest wit and unconventional wisdom, died Tuesday at age 86 in Los Angeles. Vidal died at his home in the Hollywood Hills at about 6:45 p.m. of complications from pneumonia, his nephew Burr Steers said. Vidal had been living alone in the home and had been sick for “quite a while,” Steers said/Hillel Italie, AP. More here.

Question: Did Gore Vidal's writings impact you?

Stephen R. Covey, author of the top-selling motivational book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” died on Monday at an Idaho hospital from injuries he suffered in a bicycle accident in April, family members said in a statement. He was 79. Covey, who would have turned 80 in October, was founder of a Salt Lake City-based business that evolved into FranklinCovey, a multimillion-dollar corporate consulting, training and publication enterprise, according to the firm's website. Covey, who earned a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University and a doctorate from Utah's Brigham Young University, shot to fame with the 1989 publication of “7 Habits,” his self-help guide to success in business/Laura Zuckerman, Reuters. More here.

Question: Have you been influenced by Covey's book?

Andy Griffith and little Opie from the long-running “Andy Griffith Show.” Griffith, whose homespun mix of humor and wisdom made “The Andy Griffith Show” an enduring TV favorite, died this morning in Manteo, N.C. He was 86. Story here. (AP file photo)

Question: Why are we so fond of the late actor Andy Griffith?

Don Grady — who played one of the sons on the TV classic, “My Three Sons” — has died at the age of 68 … this according to one of his co-stars. “Sons” star Barry Livingston just posted on Facebook, “My dear friend and TV brother Don Grady passed away today. He was an inspiration to me in so many ways.” Grady had reportedly been suffering from cancer. Grady was an original Mouseketeer on the “Mickey Mouse Club”  … before going on to play the role of  Robbie Douglas on “My Three Sons” from 1960 to 1972/TMZ. More here.

Question: Feeling older?

Officials have announced that a man died early Tuesday afternoon following complications he suffered during the swimming portion of the Ironman triathlon in Coeur d’Alene this weekend. The man has been identified as 44-year-old Sean Murphy from Seattle. Ironman personnel spotted Murphy struggling in Lake Coeur d’Alene about 20 minutes into the race and pulled him out of the water. They tried to resuscitate him at the medical tent, then transferred him to Kootenai Medical Center, according to a statement from the Kootenai County Coroner’s Office. Murphy was maintained on life support until he died at 1:07 p.m. Tuesday, the statement said. An autopsy to determine the cause of death will be performed at the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office/Justin Runquist, SR. More here. (Photo from Sean Murphy Facebook page)

• KHQ has more photos of Sean Murphy here

Just a few months ago, Rodney King was once again the center of attention as the world checked back in on the man whose videotaped beating by police sparked one of the nation's worst race riots. King had left Los Angeles behind, moving an hour east to a home where neighbors would often hear him splashing in the pool late at night. The physical and emotional scars from the more than 50 baton blows remained, but King struck an upbeat note on his life. “America's been good to me after I paid the price and stayed alive through it all,” he told The Associated Press. “This part of my life is the easy part now.” But King was found around 5:30 a.m. Sunday at the bottom of the swimming pool at his Rialto, Calif. Home. His death at age 47 is being treated as an apparent drowning and there are no signs of foul play, but Capt. Randy De Anda said autopsy results would be needed to determine whether drugs or alcohol were a factor/Anthony McCartney, Associated Press. More here. (AP file photo)

Thoughts?

Richard Dawson brought a saucy, unabashedly touchy-feely style to TV game shows as host of “Family Feud.” The British-born entertainer, who died Saturday in Los Angeles, earlier had made his mark in the unlikely 1960s sitcom hit “Hogan's Heroes,” which mined laughs from a Nazi POW camp whose prisoners hoodwink their captors and run the place themselves. But it is as the kissing, wisecracking quizmaster of “Feud” that he will be remembered. The show, which initially ran from 1976 to 1985, pitted a pair of families against each other as they tried to guess the most popular answers to poll questions such as “What do people give up when they go on a diet?” Dawson made his hearty, soaring pronouncement of the phrase “Survey says…” a national catchphrase among the show's fans/Christian Science Monitor. More here. (AP file photo)

Question: Am I the only one who remembers Dawson as a member of the “Hogan's Heroes” ensemble?

Levon Helm, the widely respected and influential singer and drummer with the Band, whose Arkansas drawl colored the group's signature hits, including “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” died Thursday in New York of throat cancer. He was 71. One of three lead singers of the group that first gained fame backing Bob Dylan when he “went electric” in 1965, Helm and the Band largely created the template for a genre now labeled “Americana music” for its blend of rock, country, folk, blues and gospel strains/Los Angeles Times Pop & Hiss. More here. (AP file photo of Levon Helm drumming for the Band)

Question: Any fans of the Band out there?

In this Feb. 22, 1999, photo, veteran CBS newsman Mike Wallace listens to speakers during a conference about covering assisted death at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. Wallace, who graduated from the University of Michigan in 1939, died Saturday. He was 93. Story here. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, David P. Gilkey)

Question: Are you a Mike Wallace fan?

In this June 17, 2006, SR file photo, painter Thomas Kinkade works on a landscape painting of Lake Coeur d'Alene from a hillside where builders will begin a series of luxury homes based on his paintings.  Kinkade said each house will come with a print of the painting. A family spokesman says California artist Thomas Kinkade, known for scenes of cottages, country gardens and churches in dewy morning light died Friday. He was 54. Story here. (AP Photo/Gene Blythe, File)

Question: Where you a Thomas Kinkade fan?