Mike Edwards, who was a cellist with the Electric Light Orchestra from 1972 to 1975, passed on 3 September 2010. He was killed in an automobile accident when the van he was driving collided with a large hay bale that had rolled into the road.
Mike Edwards was born Ealing in London on 31 May 1948. While very young he sung in the school choir. At age 12 he took up the cello. In 1968 he attended the Royal Academy of Music. Surprisingly for a musician who would become famous as a member of a rock group, at the time Mr. Edwards owned very few popular music albums. He was working as a session musician for the rock group Barclay James Harvest when he heard that the Electric Light Orchestra was looking for a cellist for their tours.
Mike Edwards first performed with ELO in in Croydon in April 1972. While he performed live with the band, much it was Hugh McDowell who play much of the cello parts in the studio. Regardless, it was Mr. Edwards who insured that the cellos were properly miked and amplified for the band's concerts. It was also Mr. Edwards who contributed to ELO's string section's status as entertainers. Mike Edwards was known for his outlandish costumes and fingering his cello's strings with an orange or a grapefruit. At the end of many of his cello solos (such as Bach's Air), his cello would often literally explode. Mike Edwards would contribute to the Electric Light Orchestra albums ELO II, On the Third Day, The Night the Light Went On (In Long Beach), and Eldorado.
Mike Edwards left after the first part of the United States tour to support Eldorado. Over the years he lived in different communes. He would travel throughout the United States, Germany, and India. Eventually he converted to Buddhism and changed his name to Deva Pramada. In 1990 he moved to Devon where he taught cello, bass viol, tremble viol, and other stringed instruments. He founded the classical ensemble Baroque. He also played with the medieval music and dancing troupe Daughters of Elvin. He was also a member of the baroque trio L'Ardito.
Character actor Glenn Shadix passed on September 7, 2010 at the age of 58. He was bound to a wheelchair because of mobility of problems and had apparently fallen in his kitchen and struck his head.
He was born William Glenn Shaddix in Bessemer, Alabama on April 15, 1952. He attended Birmingham Southern College for two years. While young he performed in local theatre productions. Mr. Shaddix moved to Hollywood in the late Seventies. He made his movie debut in bit part in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) . His big break would be in the film Beetlejuice (1988), in which he played Otho, the interior designer. He would go onto appear in such films as Sunset (1988, playing Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle), Heathers (1989), Meet the Applegates (1990), Demolition Man (1993), Dark Side of Genius (1994), Love Affair (1994), Chairman of the Board (1998), Red Dirt (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), Confessions of a Florist (2003), and Tom Cool (2010). He also guest starred on such shows as The Golden Girls, Roseanne, Seinfeld, Empty Nest, Night Court, Cheers, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Carnivale.
Mr. Shaddix also did extensive voice work. He provided the voice of the mayor in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). He would go onto provide voices for such television series as Dinosaurs, Life with Louie, The Mask, Jackie Chan Adventures, The Batman, and Teen Titans.
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