Rodney Marvin "Rod" McKuen (April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015)

Rod McKuen was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during
the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of
recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, classical
music and film soundtracks. He earned two Oscar nominations and one
Pulitzer nomination for his serious music compositions. He died today of
respiratory arrest, a result of pneumonia, at a hospital in Beverly Hills,
California.

 
A lock of Abraham Lincoln’s hair (above) was among the items auctioned
Saturday at a Historical Americana auction in Dallas, Texas.

(AP) – A lock of Lincoln’s hair sold for $25,000. It was taken by Surgeon General
Joseph K. Barnes shortly after the president was assassinated by John Wilkes
Booth.

The Donald P. Dow collection brought top bids totaling more than $800,000,
doubling expectations.

A 1861 letter written by Booth to a friend boasting about his career and value 
as an actor sold for $30,000.

A piece of linen from Lincoln’s death bed and stained with his blood (below) sold
for $6,000 while an 1864 letter signed by Lincoln authorizing a prisoner swap 
involving Gen. Robert E. Lee’s son from a Union POW camp sold for $27,500
and Booth’s military arrest warrant also went for $21,250.

Ernest "Ernie" Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015)

(FOX) – Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks has died. Banks compiled
512 career home runs in 19 major league seasons and was inducted
into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

The Cubs announced Banks’ death Friday night, but did not provide
a cause.

Banks played in 19 seasons between shortstop and first base.He played
every season from 1953-1971 with the Cubs.

Banks was fond of saying, "It’s a great day for baseball. Let’s play two!" It
remains the catchphrase at Wrigley Field to this day.

Meet the Beatles! is the second Beatles album released in the United States. It
was the first US Beatles album to be issued by Capitol Records in both mono
and stereo formats. It topped the popular album chart on 15 February 1964 
and remained at number one for eleven weeks before being replaced by The
Beatles’ Second Album.

Harron as seen on “Hee Haw”

Donald Hugh (Don) Harron (September 19, 1924 – January 17, 2015)

TORONTO (AP) –  Don Harron, who entertained TV audiences in Canada
and the U.S. with his comic alter ego Charlie Farquharson and helped bring
the classic Canadian novel "Anne of Green Gables" to the stage, has died.

Harron’s eldest daughter Martha said her father died Saturday morning
surrounded by family at his Toronto home after choosing not to seek
treatment for cancer.

Harron introduced his Farquharson character — a country bumpkin from
rural Ontario — on a CBC television revue in 1952. He went on to perform
as Farquharson on the U.S. TV variety show "Hee Haw" from 1969-82.