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  1. #1
    smark21 Guest

    Otis Williams of the Temptations is alive

    Otis Williams posted on his Facebook that he’s alive and well. I see that the Otis Williams RIP thread has been deleted. And understandably so as he was not dead. I hope Ralph and everyone else in this forum who has shown tendencies to run and post news of someone’s death without confirmation will learn from this.

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    I have been advocating the waiting for official news and posting credible news links on this forum for a long time. I know Ralph would, of course, trust his brother, word, but apparently Russ got some misinformation. It can happen to any of us.

    Everyone wants to be the first to deliver the news, good or bad, so bad that we sometimes forget to verify the information.

    Usually, when there is news of someone passing, I do not even open the thread. These days, too many friends of mine have passed. Another one just last Sunday. It's gotten to the point where I won't even go to a funeral. It's just too much. It doesn't get any better as we age, and i'm worried that i'll become numb to it all.

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    Sorry Gang. I blew that one. But the outcome is a relief.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ralpht View Post
    Sorry Gang. I blew that one. But the outcome is a relief.
    I'm with you brother! What a relief!

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    Another website said he had died and bio was of PAUL Williams!

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    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    Another website said he had died and bio was of PAUL Williams!
    I saw that. They were evening saying police were investigating his death!

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    Great News! Thank You.

    Good to hear he's still, somewhere out there in the world, he's still stompin' and shoutin', and entertaining all who's blessed to see him, as part of the Temptations, still as busy as ever before.

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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    I have been advocating the waiting for official news and posting credible news links on this forum for a long time. I know Ralph would, of course, trust his brother, word, but apparently Russ got some misinformation. It can happen to any of us.

    Everyone wants to be the first to deliver the news, good or bad, so bad that we sometimes forget to verify the information.

    Usually, when there is news of someone passing, I do not even open the thread. These days, too many friends of mine have passed. Another one just last Sunday. It's gotten to the point where I won't even go to a funeral. It's just too much. It doesn't get any better as we age, and i'm worried that i'll become numb to it all.
    Soulster youare right about confirming the information, but I'm sure Ralph felt his brother received information that was true, however I think you missed the mark about everyone want to be the first post information. True there may be a few, I don't think anyone want to be the first to post information such as a person's death. What I really like about this board for the most part, this type of information is 90% on point, and there many passing of different music industry folks that we wouldn't have known about if it wasnt for this board.

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    There's an obit for Damon Harris in todays 'I' newspaper [[UK).
    It states he joined the Tempts when they were 'in flux' and the only founder members left were Mervin Franklin, Otis Williams & DENNIS EDWARDS !!!!
    It also states that Otis was against Damon joining the group.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jsmith View Post
    There's an obit for Damon Harris in todays 'I' newspaper [[UK).
    It states he joined the Tempts when they were 'in flux' and the only founder members left were Mervin Franklin, Otis Williams & DENNIS EDWARDS !!!!
    It also states that Otis was against Damon joining the group.
    I am so glad Otis is alive. Otis is an original and I saw him perform many times over the years. But I am sad when anyone dies. Long live Otis.

    I won't mention AVON at all in this kind of thread information.

    Penny

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    The way Damon himself told it, Otis alone was the Tempt who auditioned him [[sitting in a chair with his back to Damon while he sang). So I guess it was Otis who hired him, never mind being against him being in the group.
    The Daily Telegraph [[UK) obituary on Harris said he was fired 'for making inappropriate statements that affected the public’s perception of the group'. What could they have been?
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obit...on-Harris.html

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    Quote Originally Posted by rod_rick View Post
    Soulster youare right about confirming the information, but I'm sure Ralph felt his brother received information that was true, however I think you missed the mark about everyone want to be the first post information. True there may be a few, I don't think anyone want to be the first to post information such as a person's death. What I really like about this board for the most part, this type of information is 90% on point, and there many passing of different music industry folks that we wouldn't have known about if it wasnt for this board.
    There's still nothing wrong with vetting your information first. A death in the family is way too serious to not be careful. We are better than that.


    And, what about poor Otis Damon Harris? His memory is being eclipsed by all this bad reporting. And, what about that awful site that keeps pushing Otis Williams' death up every couple of days? How morbid can one get???

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    Smark,
    I REALLY don't appreciate your remarks about this. A mistake was made. I apologized. Now get over it.

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    Ralph,
    It only proves you are human.

    edafan

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    One would assume that Edafan.

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    I remember I posted a death on here [[it WAS on the news) but, apparently wrong info. I can't remember who now. Well, let me tell there were people here that apparently lined up to rip me a new one. As if I didn't feel bad enough posting wrong info of such a nature, but a few lined up to see that I did. Too many holier-than-thou floating around, I sez! I leave this posting to others these days. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
    Last edited by blueskies; 02-25-2013 at 02:32 PM.

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    Things happen. It's not that big a deal. I can get a bigger response by posting the mimeographed poster of a certain former Motown star appearing at a trailer court nearby..............

    There are sites that have "obituaries ready for tomorrow" on anybody that ever had a hit record, appeared in a movie, or was on the news yesterday.

    Pissed me off cuz I couldn't find one for me.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ralpht View Post
    One would assume that Edafan.
    We all make mistakes. None of us are perfect. If we were, we wouldn't be human.

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    i was just at that site looking at the Otis obit. It seems they change the day of death everyday and add one day to it. It clearly says that the people are not dead and that these are simply anticipated obituaries. I typed in Diana and her anticipated obit popped up. And on the page there were comments by people grieving the loss. These people just didn't read close enough and clearly thought that she had died.

    Don't believe every thing you read on the Internet. Or , at least read more carefully.

  20. #20
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    Hey Ralph
    Its all good,,,,,, ,,,,,,,

  21. #21
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    Thanks, Cap.

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    Quote Originally Posted by captainjames View Post
    Hey Ralph
    Its all good,,,,,, ,,,,,,,
    It is all good. Without SD, I would never know when some of my favorite artists have passed. The main media often ignores the passing of artists that we at SD deem important.
    There are many insiders here who know info before the media gets it. I appreciate Ralph and other members here share inside info with us. Sometimes, we make mistakes. We correct them and we move on. Let's move on. It's all good Ralph

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    You said it blueskies!

  24. #24
    smark21 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by ralpht View Post
    Smark,
    I REALLY don't appreciate your remarks about this. A mistake was made. I apologized. Now get over it.
    Ralph, I’m a bit perplexed by your reprimand. If you read through the thread, you will note that I only left the initial message and have not added any further messages until now.

    In fact, just a half hour I launched this thread, you left the following:


    1. Yesterday, 09:15 PM#3


    ralpht


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    Sorry Gang. I blew that one. But the outcome is a relief.


    But then 12 hours later you take me to task and state you don’t appreciate my remarks.

    So I’m curious—what specifically in my post from last night offended you so much? You seemed fine about last night, but something that I wrote must have bothered you and festered in your mind overnight so that you felt the need to come here this morning to address me as you did.

    I can’t imagine you were offended when I said deleting the previous thread was understandable. And I would hope you would not be angered that I started a thread to make it clear and reassure everyone that Otis Williams is alive.

    I can see why you may not be happy that I signaled you out in my suggestions that members here should verify if someone is actually dead before posting news of someone’s death. But it is sensible advice in my opinion. A lot of members here are fans of particular artists and they would be upset to hear news of the passing of one their favorites, especially if it were sudden. As we saw what happened Sunday afternoon. And as you know, some of the members here have worked with and are friends with our still living legends and performers so I would imagine hearing news of someone’s passing would be especially upsetting. It’s important we should all take care to make sure before posting news of somone’s death to verify with a credible source that the news is accurate so as not to cause undue distress among the membership here. I know you made a mistake yesterday when you said Otis is dead and I know going forward you will take special care to make sure you don’t repeat your mistake. And I hope others learn from this as well.

    But then again, perhaps you addressed me in error this morning? Perhaps your message was meant for someone else, but you typed my username by mistake? If that’s the case, you may want to edit your post and re-address it to the proper recipient of your ire.

    I don’t mean to signal you out again, but I feel it’s warranted in order to clear the air. I hope you’re able to clarify where you are coming from on this. I hope you’re having a pleasant day otherwise.

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    When I saw Ralph post this I had a feeling it may be incorrect but I have seen stranger things. I KNOW he felt bad and he should not be punished if you will. Ralph when I first saw the obit on Damon Harris on Yahoo and I saw the name Otis [[I didnt know that was part of his name) I KNEW people were going to start thinking [[especially those who are not fans) that it would be Otis Williams and ALL over the net people were correcting news sources and I mean reputable sources. The news got it wrong with Abe Vigoda twice and Carlos Santana once. I remember hearing Santana had died in a car accident and nobody knew where this came from. Im sure you all remember the Abe Vigoda fiasco. A few years ago Steve Urkel/Jaleel White was pronounced gone so it can happen to anyone. Well at least we all know you are human just like the rest of us.

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    I saw an RIP Otis Williams thread at another board and I knew it was false anyway because Damon Harris just died. They definitely were misinformed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by midnightman View Post
    I saw an RIP Otis Williams thread at another board and I knew it was false anyway because Damon Harris just died. They definitely were misinformed.
    I am sad that Damon has passed away. Damon was part of the history and story of the Temptations.

    I am glad Otis is still alive. Thank you smark for telling us about Otis being alive. I am sad and happy at the same moment.

    Again this time is no time for me to talk about AVON right now so I won't.

    Your friend;
    Penny

  28. #28
    Did anyone mention that Damon Harris' name is actually Otis? He changed it to avoid confusion because there was already one Otis in the group. This might have added to the confusion.

    Lorraine

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    According to otis,he was worried about the youth of damon if he could handle the fame that went with being a temptation and it was the other temps who urged him to give the kid a shot,of course otis fears were realized just four years later when they had to fire damon.

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    Quote Originally Posted by lorraineC View Post
    Did anyone mention that Damon Harris' name is actually Otis? He changed it to avoid confusion because there was already one Otis in the group. This might have added to the confusion.

    Lorraine
    Lorraine, you are correct; quite a few newspapers online listed Otis and not Damon, lead singer of the Temptations thus the confusion, especially to those in the media who don't know the history of the Temptations.

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