Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Dennis Day

Dennis Day was born on 21 May, 1916 in New York City, New York, USA and died on 22June, 1988 of Lou Gehrig's disease at the age of 72 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Dennis Day is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery. Dennis Day's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6646 Hollywood Boulevard.

Born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty, was an Irish-American singer, radio and television personality.

Dennis Day was born and raised in New York City, the son of Irish immigrants. Dennis Day's father was a stationary engineer. Dennis Day graduated from St. Patrick's Cathedral High School, and attended Manhattan College, where he sang in the glee club.

Dennis Day appeared for the 1st time on Jack Benny's radio show on 8 October, 1939, taking the place of another famed tenor, Kenny Baker. Dennis Day remained associated with Benny's radio and television programs until Benny's death in 1974. Dennis Day was introduced (with actress Verna Felton playing his mother) as a young (19 year old), naive boy singer — a character he kept through his whole career. Dennis Day's
1st song was "Goodnight My Beautiful".

Besides singing, Dennis Day was an excellent mimic. Dennis Day did many imitations on the Benny programme of various noted celebrities of the era, such as Ronald Colman, Jimmy Durante, and Jimmy Stewart.

Sam Berman's caricature of Dennis Day for 1947 NBC promotional bookFrom 1944 through 1946, he served in the US Navy as a Lieutenant. On his return to civilian life, he continued to work with Benny while also starring his own show, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day (1946-1952). Dennis Day's having 2 programmes in comparison to Benny's 1was the subject of numerous jokes and gags on Benny's show, usually revolving around Dennis Day rubbing Benny's, and sometimes other cast members and guest stars' noses in that fact.

Dennis Day's TV series, The Dennis Day Show (aka The RCA Victor Show) was telecast from 1952 to 1954. Between 1952 and 1978, he made numerous TV appearances as a singer, actor and voice for animation (such as the Walt Disney feature Melody Time, voicing multiple characters).

In 1948,Dennis Day married Peggy Almquist; the marriage lasted until his death in 1988. The couple had 10 children. 1 of his brothers was wed to actress/singer Ann Blyth.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Michael Zaslow

Michael Joel Zaslow was born on 1 November, 1942 and died on 6 December, 1998. Michael was an American actor. Michael is best known for his role as villain Roger Thorpe on CBS's Guiding Light, a role he played from 1971 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1997.

Michael had earlier played Dick Hart on the CBS soap opera Search for Tomorrow and Dr. Peter Chernak on Love is a Many Splendored Thing. Michael also played David Rinaldi on ABC's One Life to Live from 1983 to 1986, and in 1998. Michael Zaslow was also a writer for the NBC soap opera Another World.

Michael Zaslow guest starred on a number of other television shows and soap operas, including Barnaby Jones and Law & Order. In the episode "The Man Trap," the series' 8September,1966 premiere of Star Trek, he played Crewman Darnell, the 1st starship Enterprise crewmember to be killed off. Michael also appeared as "Jordan" in the episode 1, Mudd.

Michael Zaslow's Broadway theatre credits included Fiddler on the Roof, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Onward Victoria.

In 1997, he began to experience difficulty speaking. When it became noticeable on screen, he was placed on leave at Guiding Light. (There are conflicting stories as to whether Michael Zaslow was then fired; there was for some time a legal action against Guiding Light and sponsor Procter & Gamble, which eventually was settled.) It was some time before Michael Zaslow was finally diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Michael Zaslow did not return to GL and his role was briefly recast before being written off. (In 2004, Michael Zaslow's character on GL died off-screen.)

In a show of support, Michael Zaslow was hired at One Life to Live in 1998 to play David Rinaldi again; his condition was written into the storyline. Michael Zaslow made several appearances before he was too ill to continue working; his final appearance on One Life to Live was televised on 1 December, 1998, days before his death.

Michael Zaslow's widow, psychologist/writer Susan Hufford, and ZazAngels, a foundation that wishes to raise funds in order to find a cure for Lou Gehrig's disease. Several of his Guiding Light and One Life to Live castmates, along with many Broadway-based theater luminaries, have participated in tributes to Michael Zaslow that were fundraisers for ZazAngels.

In 2004, Michael Zaslow and Susan Hufford's daughter Helena died. Susan Hufford released a book last year about Michael Zaslow and his fight with ALS, titled Not That Man Anymore. Michael Zaslow had begun writing the book several years earlier.

In 2006, Michael Zaslow's widow Susan Hufford lost her battle to cancer.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Stanley Sadie

Stanley Sadie CBE was born on 30 October, 1930 and died on 21 March, 2005 at his home in Cossington, Somerset, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), which had been diagnosed only a few weeks earlier.. Stanley was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. Stanley was editor of the 6th edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980), which was published as the 1st edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Stanley was educated at St Paul's School, London, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he read music under Thurston Dart (BA, MusB 1953, MA 1957, PhD 1958). Stanley doctoral dissertation was on mid 18th century British chamber music. After Cambridge, he taught at Trinity College of Music, London (1957-1965).

Stanley then turned to music journalism, becoming music critic for The Times (1964-1981), and contributing reviews to the Financial Times after 1981, when he had to leave his position and The Times because of his commitments to the Grove and other scholarly work. Stanley was editor of The Musical Times 1967-1987.

From 1970 Stanley was editor of what was planned to be the 6th edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980). Stanley oversaw major changes to the Dictionary, which grew from 9 volumes to 20, and was published as the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and is now referred to as the 1st edition under that name. Stanley was also an important force behind the 2nd (or 7th) edition (2001), which grew further to 29 volumes. Stanley also oversaw a major expansion of the Grove franchise, editing the 1 volume Grove Concise Dictionary of Music (1988), and several spinoff dictionaries, such as the New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments (3 volumes, 1984), the New Grove Dictionary of American Music, (with H. Wiley Hitchcock, 4 volumes, 1986), and the New Grove Dictionary of Opera (4 volumes, 1992). Stanley also edited composer biographies based on the entries in Grove.

Outside his work on the Grove Dictionaries, Stanley was a renowned Mozart scholar, publishing several books. Stanley also was instrumental in saving the Mayfair house where George Frideric Handel once lived, turning it into the Handel House Museum.

Stanley was president of the Royal Musical Association (1989-94), and of the International Musicological Society (1992-97).

Stanley married twice. Stanley's 1st wife, Adele, by whom he had 2 sons and a daughter, died in 1978. By his 2nd wife, Julie Anne, also a musicologist, he had a son and daughter. Stanley was survived by all 5 of his children and Julie Anne.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Fokko du Cloux

Fokko du Cloux was born on 20 December, 1954 and died on 10 November, 2006. Fokko du Cloux was a mathematician and computer scientist who worked on the Atlas of Lie groups and representations until his death. One of the founding members of the project, he was responsible for building the Atlas software which was instrumental in the mapping of the E8 Lie Group. The Project successfully managed to map the structure of the E8 group in 2007. Fokko du Cloux was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2005, but he continued to actively participate in the project until his death.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Dieter Dengler

Dieter Dengler was born on 22 May, 1938 and died on 7 February, 2001 of ALS, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. An exemplary guard of honor was present at the burial as well as a fly-over by Navy F-14 Tomcats. Dieter was a United States Navy pilot during the Vietnam War. Dieter was 1 of the 2 survivors (the other being Pisidhi Indradat), out of 7, to escape from a Pathet Lao prison camp in Laos. Dieter was rescued after 23 days on the run.

Dieter Dengler grew up in the small town of Wildberg in the Black Forest region of Germany. Dieter was very close to his mother and brothers. Dieter Dengler did not know his father, who was killed while serving in the German army during World War II. Dieter's grandfather was declared a political enemy of the Nazis for being the only citizen in his town who did not vote for Hitler. Dieter Dengler later credited his grandfather's resolve as a major inspiration during his time in Laos. Dieter's grandfather's steadfastness, despite great danger, was one reason Dieter Dengler refused to sign a document decrying American aggression in Southeast Asia, presented to him by the North Vietnamese after his crash.

Dieter Dengler's first experience with aircraft came when he was very young and witnessed enemy allied aircraft flying over his town from his bedroom window. From that moment, he wanted to be a pilot. Dieter became an apprentice in a local machine shop, but after seeing an ad in an American magazine expressing a need for pilots, he decided to go to the United States. Although a family friend agreed to sponsor him, he lacked money for passage and came up with a scheme to steal and scrounge brass and other metals to sell.

When he turned 18 and upon completion of his apprenticeship, he hitchiked to Hamburg and set sail for New York City with the dream of becoming a pilot. Dieter lived off the streets of Manhattan for just over a week and eventually found his way to an Air Force recruiter. Dieter was assured that piloting aircraft was what the Air Force was all about, so he enlisted and in June 1957, went to basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. After basic, Dieter Dengler was initially assigned duty as a motor pool mechanic. Dieter's qualifications as a machinist led to an assignment as a gunsmith. Dieter took and passed the test for aviation cadets, but his enlistment expired before he was selected for pilot training.

After his discharge he joined his brother in a bakery shop near San Francisco and enrolled in San Francisco City College, then transferred to San Mateo College where he studied aeronautics. Upon completion of 2 years of college, he applied for the US Navy aviation cadet program and was accepted. After completion of flight training he went to Corpus Christi, Texas for training as an attack pilot in the Douglas AD Skyraider. Dieter joined VA-145 while the squadron was on shore duty at Alameda, California. In 1965 the squadron joined the carrier USS Ranger. In December the carrier set sail for the coast of Vietnam, stationed initially at Dixie Station off of South Vietnam, then moving north to Yankee Station for operations against North Vietnam.

A Navy AD Skyraider from VA-15 catches a wire during carrier operations. The day after the carrier began flying missions from Yankee Station, Lieutenant, Junior Grade Dieter Dengler launched from Ranger with 3 other aircraft on an interdiction mission against a truck convoy that had been reported in North Vietnam. Thunderstorms forced the flight to divert to their secondary target, a road intersection located west of the Mu Gia Pass in Laos. At the time, U.S. air operations in Laos were classified "secret." Visibility was poor due to smoke from burning fields, and upon rolling in on the target, Lt. Dengler and the remainder of his flight lost sight of one another. Dieter Dengler was the last man in and was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Dieter managed to crash-land his Skyraider in Laos.

When his squadron mates realised that he had been lost, they remained confident that he would be rescued. Dieter Dengler had a reputation from his experiences at the Navy survival school, where he had escaped from the mock-POW camp run by Marine guards 3 times. Dieter had also set a record as the only student to actually gain weight during the course - his childhood experiences made him unafraid of eating whatever he could find and he had feasted on garbage. Unfortunately, immediately after he was shot down, he smashed his survival radio and hid most of his survival equipment to keep the enemy from finding it. When a rescue helicopter came near the next day, he had no means with which to signal it. Dieter tried not to be seen as much as possible but the day after he was shot down he was spotted by Pathet Lao guerrillas and captured. At the prison camp to which he was taken, he met Duane W. Martin, Eugene DeBruin, Prasit Thanee, Y.C. To, Pisidhi Indradat, and Prasit Promsuwan.

The day after he was shot down, Lt. Dengler was apprehended by Pathet Lao troops. They bound his hands and marched him through the jungle, stopping at various villages along the way. At one point, he escaped and climbed a karst tower in hopes of signaling a passing aircraft. Lack of shelter from the sun and thirst forced him to climb down to seek water, and his captors found him as he was drinking from a spring. In retaliation, they devised various methods to torture him, including hanging him upside down while putting ant nests on his face until he passed out, inserting bamboo shoots under his fingernails and skin, and suspending him in a well.

Dieter Dengler was eventually brought to a prison camp near the village of Par Kung where he met other POWs. The other 6 prisoners were:

Pisidhi Indradat (Thai)

Prasit Promsuwan (Thai)

Prasit Thanee (Thai)

Y.C. To (Chinese)

Duane W. Martin (American)

Eugene DeBruin (American)

Except for Martin, who was an Air Force helicopter pilot who had been shot down in North Vietnam nearly a year before, the other prisoners were civilians employed by Air America, a civilian airline owned by the Central Intelligence Agency. The civilians had been in Pathet Lao hands for over 2 1/2 years when Dieter Dengler joined them. The day he arrived in the camp, Dieter Dengler advised the other prisoners that he intended to escape and invited them to join him. They advised that he wait until the monsoon season when there would be plenty of water. Shortly after Dieter Dengler arrived, the prisoners were moved to a new camp 10 miles away at Hoi Het. After the move, a strong debate ensued among the prisoners, with Dieter Dengler, Martin and Prasit arguing for escape which the other prisoners, particularly Indradat, initially opposed. One of the Thais heard the guards discussing the possibility of shooting them in the jungle and making it look like an escape attempt. With that revelation, everyone agreed and a date to escape was set. Their plan was to take over the camp and signal a C-130 Hercules flareship that made nightly visits to the vicinity. Dieter Dengler loosened logs under the hut that allowed the prisoners to squeeze through. The plan was for him to go out when the guards were eating and seize their weapons and pass them to Indradat and Promsuwan while Martin and DeBruin procured others from other locations.

On 29 June, 1966, while the guards were eating, the group slipped out of their hand and foot restraints and grabbed the guards' unattended weapons, which included M1 rifles, Chinese automatic rifles, an American carbine and at least one submachinegun. Dieter Dengler went out first followed by 2 of the Thais. Dieter went to the guard hut and seized an M1 for himself, and passed 2 Chinese automatic rifles to the Thais. The guards realised the prisoners had escaped and 5 of them rushed toward Dieter Dengler, who shot at least 3 with the M1. One of the Thais shot a popular guard in the leg. 2 others ran off, presumably to get help, although at least 1 had been wounded. The 7 prisoners split into 3 groups. DeBruin was originally supposed to go with Dieter Dengler and Martin but decided to go with To, who was recovering from a fever and unable to keep up. They intended to get over the nearest bridge and wait for rescue. Dieter Dengler and Martin went off by themselves with the intention of heading for the Mekong River to escape to Thailand, but they never got more than a few miles from the camp from which they had escaped.

With the exception of Indradat, who was recaptured and later rescued by Laotian troops, none of the other prisoners were ever seen again. DeBruin was reportedly captured and placed in another camp, then disappeared in 1968.

Dieter Dengler and Martin found themselves in a jungle filled with leeches, insects and other creatures that made life miserable. They made their way down a creek and found a river, but when they thought they were on their way to the Mekong, they discovered that they had gone around in a circle. They had spotted several villages but had not been detected. They set up camp in an abandoned village where they found shelter from the nearly incessant rain. They had brought rice with them and found other food, but were still on the verge of starvation. Their intent had been to signal a C-130 but at first lacked the energy to build a fire using primitive methods of rubbing bamboo together. Dieter Dengler finally managed to locate carbine cartridges that Martin had thrown away and used the powder from them to enhance the tinder, and got a fire going. That night they lit torches and waved them in the shape of an S and O when a C-130 came over. The airplane circled and dropped a couple of flares and they were overjoyed, believing they had been spotted. They woke up the next morning to find the landscape covered by fog and drizzle, but when it lifted, no rescue force appeared.

The following day, they were demoralised after a rescue force did not appear in response to their signal of the C-130 flareship. Martin who was weak from starvation and was suffering from malaria, wanted to approach a nearby Akha village to steal some food. Dieter Dengler knew it was not a good idea, but refused to let his friend go near the village alone. They saw a little boy playing with a dog, and the child ran into the village calling out "Amelican!" Within seconds a villager appeared and they knelt down on the trail in supplication, but the man swung his machete and struck Martin in the leg. The man swung again and hit him behind the neck, killing him. Dieter Dengler jumped to his feet and rushed toward the villager, who turned and ran into the village to get help. Dieter Dengler managed to evade the searchers who went out after him and escaped back into the jungle. Dieter returned to an abandoned village where the had been spending their time and where he and Martin had signaled a C-130. That night when a C-130 flareship came over, Dieter Dengler set fire to the huts and burned the village down. The C-130 crew spotted the fires and dropped flares, but even though the crew reported their sighting when they returned to their base at Ubon, Thailand, the fires were not recognised by intelligence as having been a signal from a survivor. When a rescue force again failed to materialise, Dieter Dengler decided to find 1 of the parachutes from a flare for use as a possible signal. Dieter found 1 on a bush and placed it in his rucksack. On 20 July, 1966, after 23 days in the jungle, Dieter Dengler managed to signal an Air Force pilot with the parachute. A 2-ship flight of Air Force Skyraiders from the 1st Air Commando Group happened to fly up the river where Dieter Dengler was. Eugene Peyton Deatrick, the pilot of the lead plane and the squadron commander, spotted a flash of white while making a turn at the river's bend and came back and spotted a man waving something white. Peyton Deatrick and his wingman contacted rescue forces but were told to ignore the sighting, as no airmen were known to be down in the area. Peyton Deatrick persevered and eventually managed to convince the command and control center to dispatch a rescue force. Fearing that Dieter Dengler might be a Viet Cong soldier, the helicopter crew restrained him when he was brought aboard.

According to the documentary, "Little Dieter Needs to Fly", Dieter Dengler said one of the flight crew who was holding him down pulled out a 1/2 eaten snake from underneath Dieter Dengler's clothing and was so surprised he nearly fell out of the helicopter. The person who threw Dieter Dengler to the floor of the helicopter was Air Force Pararescue specialist Michael Leonard from Lawler, Iowa. Leonard stripped Dieter Dengler of his clothes, making sure he was not armed or in possession of a hand grenade. When questioned, Dieter Dengler told Leonard that he escaped from a North Vietnamese Prisoner of War camp 2 months earlier. Peyton Deatrick radioed the rescue helicopter crew to see if they could identify the person they had just hoisted up from the jungle. They reported that they had a man who claimed to be a downed Navy pilot who flew a Douglas A-1H Skyraider.

It wasn't until after he reached the hospital at Da Nang that Dieter Dengler's identity was confirmed. A conflict between the Air Force and the Navy developed over who should control his interrogation and recovery. In an apparent attempt to prevent the Air Force from embarrassing them in some way, the Navy sent a team of SEALS into the hospital to literally steal Dieter Dengler. Dieter was brought out of the hospital in a covered gurney and rushed to the air field, where he was placed aboard a Navy carrier delivery transport and flown to Ranger where a welcoming party had been prepared. Deprivation from malnutrition and parasites caused the Navy doctors to order that he be airlifted to the United States.

Dieter Dengler remained in the Navy for a year, and was trained to fly jets. When his military obligation was satisfied, he resigned from the Navy and applied for a position as an airline pilot with Trans World Airlines. Dieter continued flying and survived 4 subsequent crashes as a civilian test pilot.

In 1977, during a time when he was furloughed from TWA, Dieter Dengler returned to Laos and was greeted as a celebrity by the Pathet Lao. Dieter was taken to the camp from which he had escaped and was surprised to discover that at one point he and Martin had been within a mile and a half of it. Dieter's fascination with airplanes and aviation continued for the remainder of his life. Dieter continued flying almost up until his death, as a pilot for TWA until his retirement at age 59, then privately. In 2000, Dieter Dengler was inducted into the Gathering of Eagles programme and told the story of his escape to groups of young military officers. During his life, Dieter Dengler had 3 wives, Marina Adamich (1966 – March 1970), Irene Lam (11 September, 1980 – 3 April, 1984), Yukiko Dengler (until his death). Dieter Dengler is also survived by 2 sons: Rolf and Alexander Dengler, and 1 grandchild.

Military Honours:

Dieter Dengler is a recipient of the following medals:

Navy Cross

Distinguished Flying Cross

Purple Heart

Air Medal

Prisoner of War Medal (retroactive)

Dieter Dengler was the subject of Werner Herzog's 1997 documentary "Little Dieter Needs to Fly". Herzog went on to direct a dramatised version of the story, "Rescue Dawn", which stars Christian Bale as Dieter Dengler. The film was shown at festivals throughout the end of 2006 and received a limited theatrical release in the USA on 4 July, 2007 before a general release later that month. The film was released as a DVD in November 2007.

The movie "Rescue Dawn" was subjected to severe criticism by members of the family of Eugene DeBruin, Dieter Dengler, and Pisidhi Indradat, the other survivor of the group.

Herzog acknowledged that DeBruin acted heroically during his imprisonment, refusing to leave while some sick prisoners remained, but Herzog was unaware of this fact until after the film had been completed. Herzog states that this narrative aspect probably would have been included had he learned it earlier. Family members, however, said that Herzog was uninterested in speaking with them prior to the completion of the movie.

Dieter Dengler documented his experience in the book "Escape From Laos". Amazon also has a short on the subject.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Jason Becker

Jason Becker, was born on 22 July, 1969. Jason is an American neo-classical metal guitarist and composer. At the age of 16, he became part of the Mike Varney-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman. They released Speed Metal Symphony in 1987 and Go Off! in 1988.

Jason Becker studied the works of violinist Niccolò Paganini and was a playing partner with Marty Friedman. Jason later composed a rendition of Paganini's 5th Caprice, performing it during an instructional guitar video. Jason Becker's compositions often include high speed scalar and arpeggio passages, both of which are trademarks of his 'shred' style of guitar playing. The song "Serrana", appearing in the album Perspective, is an example of his sweep-picking skills. Jason demonstrated the arpeggio sequence during a clinic at the Atlanta Institute of Music. A video of this performance first appeared on his Hot Licks guitar instructional video and can now be viewed on YouTube.

Jason Becker started out playing alongside Marty Friedman in the Mike Varney produced duo, Cacophony. Jason Becker and Marty Friedman toured together with Cacophony in Japan and across the United States. In 1989 Jason Becker left to pursue a solo career, releasing his 1st solo album titled 'Perpetual Burn' in 1988, and has since released 'Perspective', as well as 2 albums of demos, entitled 'The Raspberry Jams' and The Blackberry Jams.

At the age of 20, he joined David Lee Roth's band, replacing Steve Vai, who went on to join Whitesnake. While recording the A Little Ain't Enough album and preparing for the subsequent tour in 1990, Jason Becker began to feel what he called a "lazy limp" on his left leg. Jason was soon diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and given 3 years to live. Jason could barely finish the recording, using low-gauge (thin) guitar strings and other techniques, which would make it easier to play with his weakening hands. Although he managed to finish the album he did not join the supporting tour due to his inability to perform on stage; former Lizzy Borden guitarist Joe Holmes took Jason Becker's place on tour.

Jason eventually lost the ability to speak and now communicates with his eyes via a system developed by his father. Although his ALS gradually robbed him of his ability to play guitar, to walk, and eventually even to speak, he still remains mentally sharp and, with the aid of a computer, continues composing. In the back of the Perspective CD case, Jason Becker states "I have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It has crippled my body and speech, but not my mind." Now in his 30s, his medical condition has remained stable since 1997. No recent updates pertaining to Jason's condition has been heard of aside from him stating that he has felt a little better and gained some weight, but this was in 2003.

In 1996 Jason Becker released an album entitled Perspective, an instrumental album composed by him (with the exception of Bob Dylan's song "Meet Me in the Morning"). The writing of the music had been started before ALS completely crippled his abilities. By using guitar and later, when he was unable to use both hands, a keyboard, he continued to compose while his disease worsened. However, when Jason Becker could no longer physically play even a keyboard, his friend and music producer Mike Bemesderfer helped him with a music-composing computer program which could read the movements of his head and eyes enabling Json Becker to continue to compose after he lost control of his entire body.

Several years later Jason Becker released Raspberry Jams (1999) and Blackberry Jams (2003), the first contained various unreleased demo-tracks and the latter contained demo-tracks and alternate versions of songs that were later reworked and published into other albums.

2 tribute albums to Jason Becker have been issued. Respectively entitled Warmth in the Wilderness I and Warmth in the Wilderness II, they feature guitarists such as Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Joe Becker, Rusty Cooley, and Mattias Eklundh. The album profits were sent to Jason Becker to help him with his medical finances.

Shrapnel Records will be releasing a Best of Jason Becker album. The album, is scheduled for release in October and will feature three new songs for the album which will feature Marty Friedman, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani, Michael Lee Firkins, Steve Vai, and Steve Hunter. The album will also feature older, never-heard songs/recordings.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Don Revie

Donald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, was born on 10 July 1927 in Middlesbrough and died on 26 May 1989, from motor neurone disease, in Edinburgh, Scotland, aged 61.

Don Revie was a football player for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United between 1961 to 1974 with great success, his reign becoming known as Leeds' "Glory Years", he managed England from 1974 to 1977.

Don Revie first signed as a footballer for Leicester City in 1944. From there he went on to play for Hull City in 1949 (transfer fee £20,000), Manchester City in 1951 (£25,000), Sunderland in 1956 (£22,000) and Leeds United in 1958 (£12,000). The combined transfer fees paid over his career were at the time (i.e. in 1958) a record in English football.

Don Revie won 6 caps for England, was Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1955 and won an FA Cup winners medal with Manchester City in 1956. At Manchester City the playing tactic of using a deep-lying centre-forward (Don Revie's position, evolved from the more traditional inside-right), and based on the style of the successful Hungarian national team, and in particular Nándor Hidegkuti, who invented the role, became known as the "Revie Plan".

This tactic was of enormous significance in the development of football, moving permanently from the old 2-3-5 and WM tactics to 3-3-4, then 4-2-4 and 4-3-3 tactics.

Don Revie was made player-manager in March 1961 at Leeds. Although his tenure didn't get off to a flying start, he won the Football League 2nd Division within 3 years as manager and once promoted took them to 2nd in the league and the FA Cup final in their 1st season in the top division. Don Revie developed the team that would by the early 1970s be the major force in English football. Don Revie was named English Manager of the Year in 1969, 1970, and 1972, and was awarded the OBE in 1970.

All in all Don Revie guided Leeds to 2 Football League 1st Division titles, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 2 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup titles, 1 Football League 2nd Division title and 1 Charity Shield. Don Revie also guided them to 3 more FA Cup Finals, 1 more Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final and 1&1 Cup Winners' Cup Final.

Don Revie was occasionally linked with other clubs during his tenure, most notably Everton in 1973, but his loyalty unwavered.

In July 1974 Don Revie was offered the job of England national football manager ahead of such luminaries as future Leeds boss Jimmy Adamson, but was unable to reproduce the success he had enjoyed at Leeds. England failed to qualify for Euro 1976 under his reign, and he was villified for lying about his wherebouts during qualification for the subsequent World Cup.

In 1977 he controversially quit the role to become coach to the United Arab Emirates. The FA suspended Don Revie from football for 10 years on a charge of bringing the game into disrepute, which Don Revie successfully overturned in court. After leaving the UAE coaching role in 1980 he took over management of Al Nasr, followed in 1984 by the Egyptian club Al Ahly of Cairo. Don Revie left within a year because his wife was ill at the time.

A controversial figure in his time, his team was criticised for its violent play and gamesmanship, most notably by Brian Clough, although it was widely recognised as among the finest of its day. Don Revie's reputation suffered following his retirement due to the U.A.E. scandal and also because of highly controversial allegations that Don Revie had attempted to bribe opposition players and managers during his career - these allegations have been made by several senior players and coaches, such as Bob Stokoe, Jim Barron, Don Revie's own goalkeeper Gary Sprake and more recently Frank McLintock. These claims have not been proven. However, in the years following his death, Don Revie's reputation has at least partially recovered in spite of these scandals and he is now considered (by Leeds fans at least) as one the finest managers in English football history.

Don Revie continues to be worshipped by the Leeds supporters and beloved by his former team. The kop at Leeds United's ground, Elland Road, is named after him. Don Revie was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2004 in recognition of his impact as a manager on the English league.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend David Niven

James David Graham Niven was born on 1 March 1910 in London, England, UK and died on 29 July 1983 in Switzerland of motor neurone disease (Lou Gehrig's Disease) at the age of 73. Bitter, estranged, and plagued by depression, David Niven's wife Hjördis showed up drunk at the funeral, having been persuaded to attend by family friend Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Hjördis added insult to injury by noting in her will that "under no circumstances" was she to be buried alongside her husband in the place left for her in the crypt in Switzerland.

David Niven was an English Academy Award-winning actor probably best known for his role as the punctuality-obsessed adventurer Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (1956).

David Niven was the son of William Edward Graham Niven and the French/British Henrietta Julia Degacher who was born in Wales, was the daughter of army officer William Degacher (who changed his original name of Hitchcock to his mother's maiden name of Degacher in 1874 and Julia Caroline, the daughter of Lieutenant General James Webber Smith. James was named David for his birth on St. David's Day. Although he often claimed to have been born in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland in 1909, it was only after his birth certificate was checked following his death that this was found to be incorrect.

David's father was killed during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 and his mother remarried Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt. In his biography, NIV: The Authorised Biography of David Niven, Graham Lord suggests that Comyn-Platt had been conducting an affair with David Niven's mother for some time prior to her husband's death, and that Sir Thomas may well have been David Niven's biological father, a supposition not without some support from her children.

After attending Stowe as a boy, David Niven trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, which gave him the "officer and gentleman" bearing that was to be his trademark. Although he had done well at Sandhurst, David Niven did not enjoy his time in the regular Army, in part because he was not accepted for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders on which he had set his heart. David served for 2 years in Malta and 2 years in Dover with the Highland Light Infantry. While on Malta, he became acquainted and friendly with Captain Roy Urquhart, who would later lead the British 1st Airborne Division in the ill-fated Operation Market-Garden.

David Niven grew tired of the peacetime Army and saw no opportunity for promotion or advancement. As he related in his memoirs, his ultimate decision to resign came after a lengthy lecture on machine guns, which was interfering with his plans for dinner with a particularly attractive young lady. At the end of the speech, the major general giving the lecture asked if there were any questions. Showing the typical rebelliousness of his early years, David Niven stated that he felt compelled to ask, "Could you tell me the time, sir? I have to catch a train."

After being placed under close arrest for this act of insubordination, David Niven claims to have finished a bottle of whisky with the officer who was guarding him and, with the connivance of the latter, escaped from a 1st floor window. En route across the Atlantic, David Niven sent a telegram resigning his commission. David Niven relocated to New York, where he began an unsuccessful career in whisky sales and horse rodeo promotion in Atlantic City. After subsequent detours to Bermuda and Cuba, he finally arrived in Hollywood in the summer of 1934.

According to his autobiography, The Moon's a Balloon, David Niven arrived in Hollywood to try to break into the movies by first finding work as an extra. David was given lodgings with the Belzer family, one of whose daughters - Gretchen - was already a major Hollywood star, under her stage name of Loretta Young. When he presented himself at the doors of Central Casting, he found out that he had to have a work permit, to allow him to reside and work in the U.S. Luckily for him, he was given the chance to do a screen test for director Edmund Goulding. Unfortunately, it was not long after this that he was paid a visit by the U.S. Immigration Service and told he had to apply for a Resident Alien Visa.

This meant that David Niven had to leave U.S. soil in the meantime, and again, according to his autobiography, he left for Mexico - specifically Mexicali - where he worked as a "gun-man", cleaning and polishing the rifles of the visiting Americans who came there to hunt quail and various other game. After a lengthy wait for his birth certificate to be sent out from England, he successfully applied - and received - his Resident Alien Visa from the American Consulate. David then returned to the U.S. and was accepted by Central Casting as "Anglo-Saxon Type No. 2008."

David Niven's first work as an extra was as a Mexican in a Western. This inauspicious start notwithstanding, he then found himself an agent - Bill Hawks. After this, he was then signed up for a non-speaking part in MGM's "Mutiny On The Bounty" (1935), starring Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian and Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh.

David Niven then landed a long-term contract as a supporting player with independent film producer Samuel Goldwyn, which firmly established his career and enabled him to become a leading man in many films. Given his privileged English upbringing, David Niven had no problems infiltrating what became known as the Hollywood Raj, a select group of British actors who had made Hollywood their home. Other members of the group, included Boris Karloff, Stan Laurel, Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and their self appointed leader C. Aubrey Smith. One of his 1st major roles was in The Charge of the Light Brigade in 1936, in which he starred alongside one of his closest friends Errol Flynn. A year later he starred as Capt. Fritz von Tarlenheim in 1937's The Prisoner of Zenda with C Aubrey Smith and Ronald Colman. However, not wanting to be typecast as a 'swashbuckler' as Errol Flynn had been, David Niven also made films in a light hearted vein such as the 1939 RKO comedy Bachelor Mother with Ginger Rogers, and Raffles, in which he played a gentleman thief.

After the United Kingdom declared war in 1939, David Niven was one of the 1st British actors to return to England. David rejoined the British Army. 1st serving with the Rifle Brigade, David Niven was assigned to a motor training battalion. David Niven later interviewed for a position with the British Commandos, and was assigned to a training base at Inverailort House in the Western Highlands of Scotland. David Niven would later claim credit for introducing British hero Robert Laycock to the Commandos. Working with the Army Film Unit, he also took part in the deception campaign, using a minor actor M.E. Clifton James, a Montgomery lookalike, to convince the Germans that the D-Day landings would be made in the Mediterranean. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by General Frederick E. Morgan and assigned as a liaison officer between the British Second Army and the First United States Army, David Niven took part in the Normandy landings, arriving several days after D-Day. David acted in 2 films during the war, both of strong propaganda value: The First of the Few (1942) and The Way Ahead (1944). During his war service, his batman was Private Peter Ustinov (with whom he would later co-star in Death on the Nile).

David Niven remained politely, but firmly, close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for telling good stories over and over again. David said once: "I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, David Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war." David Niven also had special scorn for the newspaper columnists covering the war who typed out self-glorifying and excessively florid prose about their meagre wartime experiences. David Niven stated, "Anyone who says a bullet sings past, hums past, flies, pings, or whines past, has never heard one − they go crack." One story has surfaced: about to lead his men into a battle with an expectation of heavy casualties, David Niven supposedly eased their nervousness by telling them, "It's all very well for you chaps, but I'll have to do this all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!"

David Niven did, however, finally open up about his war experience in his 1971 autobiography, The Moon's a Balloon, mentioning his private conversations with Winston Churchill, the bombings, and what it was like entering a nearly completely destroyed Germany with the occupation forces. David Niven stated that he first met Winston Churchill during a dinner party in February 1940 when Winston Churchill singled him out from the crowd and stated, "Young man, you did a fine thing to give up your film career to fight for your country. Mark you, had you not done so − it would have been despicable."

In spite of a 6 year virtual absence from the screen, he came 2nd in the 1945 Popularity Poll of British film stars. On his return to Hollywood after the war, he was made a Legionnaire of the Legion of Merit, the highest American order that can be earned by a foreigner. This was presented to Lt. Col. David Niven by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

David Niven was actually a member of the specialist Phantom Signals Unit, and was responsible for reporting and locating enemy positions, bomb lines and also keeping rear Commanders up to date on changing battle lines. David Niven was posted at one time to Chilham in Kent. Dwight Eisenhower was so disappointed with communications difficulty on D-Day that he personally ordered a Phantom Unit to be attached to his headquarters.

David Niven resumed his career after the war, with films such as A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Around the World in 80 Days (1956) (as Phileas Fogg), The Guns Of Navarone (1961), and The Pink Panther (1963).

The same year as he hosted the show with Jack Lemmon and Bob Hope, David Niven won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Separate Tables (1958). David Niven had a long and complex relationship with Samuel Goldwyn, who had first given him his start, but whom David Niven believed had been treating him unfairly. Despite their long business history, David Niven and Samuel Goldwyn went through an 8 year estrangement in which David Niven was essentially blacklisted from the movie industry after demanding greater compensation for his work. After winning the Academy Award, David Niven received a telephone call from Samuel Goldwyn with the invitation that he should come to his home. David Niven claimed that he was in Samuel Goldwyn's drawing room when he noticed a picture of him in uniform that he had sent to Samuel Goldwyn from England during World War II. David claimed that in happier times with Goldwyn, he had observed this same picture sitting on top of Samuel Goldwyn's piano. Now years later, the picture was still in the exact same spot. David Niven claimed that as he was looking at the picture, Samuel Goldwyn's wife, Francis, approached him and said, "Sam never took it down."

David Niven had in fact been Ian Fleming's preference for the part of James Bond, however EON Productions chose Sean Connery for their series. In 1967, he starred with Deborah Kerr and Barbara Bouchet in the James Bond satire, Casino Royale. In a documentary included with the U.S. DVD of the 1967 release of Casino Royale, Charles K. Feldman states that Ian Fleming had written the book with David Niven in mind, and therefore sent a copy of the book to David. David Niven is the only James Bond actor who is mentioned by name in the text of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Bond visits an exclusive ski resort in Switzerland where he is told that David Niven is a frequent visitor and in You Only Live Twice, David Niven is referred to as the only real gentleman in Hollywood.

Late in life, he gained critical acclaim for his memoirs of his boyhood and acting career, The Moon's a Balloon (1971) and Bring On the Empty Horses (1975). Although it has since come to light that despite David Niven's frequent recounting of anecdotes about Hollywood in a manner that suggested that he had been personally involved at the time, in many cases he had not in fact been a witness to them and he was merely embroidering stories he had heard at third hand.

Perhaps one of David Niven's finest moments came when he had to present the 46th Annual Oscars ceremony, and a naked man appeared behind him, running across the stage. Not to be outclassed or nonplussed even for a moment, David Niven came back with the one liner "Isn't it fascinating to think, that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life, is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings!"

After a whirlwind 2 week romance in 1940, David Niven married Primula Susan Rollo (1918, London - 21 May 1946, Beverly Hills, California), the aristocratic daughter of a British lawyer. The couple had 2 sons, David Jr. and Jamie. Primula died at age 28, only 6 weeks after moving to America, of a fractured skull and brain lacerations from an accidental fall in the home of Tyrone Power. While playing hide and seek, she walked through a door believing it led to a closet. Instead, it led to a stone staircase to the basement. David Niven recalled this as the darkest period of his life, years afterwards thanking his friends for their patience and forbearance during this time. David later claimed to have been so grief stricken that he thought for a while that he'd gone mad. David eventually rallied and returned to film making.

David Niven met Hjördis Paulina Tersmeden (née Genberg, 1921–1997), a divorced Swedish fashion model and frustrated actress, in 1948. The moment of his meeting her was recounted by David Niven in what might be a classic example of his writing style:

I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life - tall, slim, auburn hair, uptilted nose, lovely mouth and the most enormous grey eyes I had ever seen. It really happened the way it does when written by the worst lady novelists...I goggled. I had difficulty swallowing and had champagne in my knees.

They married 10 days later.

In October 1951, while pheasant shooting with friends in New England, Hjördis was shot in the face, neck and chest by 2 of David Niven's companions. While convalescing in the Blackstone Hotel in New York, David Niven and Hjördis were next door neighbours with Audrey Hepburn, who made her debut on Broadway that season. In 1960, while filming Please Don't Eat the Daisies with Doris Day, David Niven and Hjördis separated for a few weeks, though they later reconciled.

They had 2 adopted daughters, Kristin and Fiona, one of whom has long been rumored to be David Niven's child by another fashion model, Mona Gunnarson. The marriage was as tumultuous as David Niven's previous marriage had been happy. Thwarted from pursuing an acting career, Hjördis was reported as having affairs with other men and became an alcoholic.

In February 1983, using a false name to avoid publicity, David Niven was hospitalised for 10 days for treatment, ostensibly for a digestive problem. Afterwards, he returned to his chalet at Chateau d'Oex in Switzerland, where his condition continued to decline. David refused to return to the hospital, and his family supported his decision.

According to Graham Lord, who wrote a biography on David Niven, called simply "Niv", Lord writes that there have been reports that some have accused David Niven of being especially friendly to people who could have done him some good. Graham Lord also says that "the biggest wreath, worthy of a Mafia Godfather's funeral, was delivered from the porters at London's Heathrow Airport, along with a card that read: "To the finest gentleman who ever walked through these halls. David Niven made a porter feel like a king."

David Niven died on the same day as Raymond Massey, his co-star in The Prisoner of Zenda and A Matter of Life and Death. David Niven had just completed work on Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther. David was incomprehensible at times during the filming of both movies, and his voice was dubbed over in post-production by impressionist Rich Little, a fact that David Niven later learned through a gossip column.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Lane Smith

Walter Lane Smith III was born on 29 April, 1936 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA and died on 13 June, 2005 of Lou Gehrig's Disease at his home in Northridge, California at the age of 69. Lane Smith was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease in April 2005.

Lane was an American actor best known for his role as Perry White in the American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and as Richard Nixon in The Final Days, for which he received a Golden Globe award nomination.

Lane graduated from The Leelanau School, a boarding school in Glen Arbor, Michigan where he is enshrined in the school's Hall of Fame, and spent 1 year boarding at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania before going off to study at the Actors Studio in the late 1950s and early 1960s along with Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino.

After his graduation, he found steady work in New York theater before making his film debut in Maidstone in 1970. During the 1970s, he regularly made appearances in small film roles including Rooster Cogburn in 1975 and Network in 1976. Lane also acted on television, notably playing a U.S. Marine in Vietnam in the made for television miniseries A Rumor of War.

Lane made a major breakthrough in 1984 with significant roles in Red Dawn, Places in the Heart and the television series V. In 1989, Lane Smith gained great recognition for his portrayal of former President Richard Nixon in the docudrama The Final Days. Newsweek praised Lane Smith's role by stating, "is such a good Nixon that his despair and sorrow at his predicament become simply overwhelming." Lane Smith later earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. Lane Smith also appeared in the original Broadway stage production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross as James Lingk. For his role, he received a Drama Desk Award.

In 1990, he appeared in Air America playing a U.S. Senator. 2 years later, he played a small-town district attorney opposite Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny, followed by a role as Coach Jack Reilly in The Mighty Ducks. However, it was not until 1993 that Lane Smith landed his 1st major television role as Perry White in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The show last for 4 seasons before ending in 1997. Lane Smith's final film appearance was in The Legend of Bagger Vance in 2000.

Lane Smith was married twice. Lane's 1st marriage was to writer Sydne MacCall. The couple had 1 son together: Robby Smith born on 24 January, 1987. In 2000, he remarried to Ruth Benedict who had 1 son from a previous marriage.

Lane Smith was previously in a relationship with actress Mariette Hartley before the 2 split.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Professor Stephen Hawking

Prof. Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 (300 years after the death of Galileo) in Oxford, England. Prof. Stephen Hawking parents' house was in north London, but during the second world war Oxford was considered a safer place to have babies. When he was 8, his family moved to St Albans, a town about 20 miles north of London.

At the age of 11 Prof. Stephen Hawking went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father's old college. Prof. Stephen Hawking wanted to do Mathematics, although his father would have preferred medicine. Mathematics was not available at University College, so he did Physics instead. After 3 years and not very much work he was awarded a first class honours degree in Natural Science.

Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology, there being no-one working in that area in Oxford at the time. Prof. Stephen Hawking's supervisor was Denis Sciama, although he had hoped to get Fred Hoyle who was working in Cambridge. After gaining his Ph.D. he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College.

After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973 Prof. Stephen Hawking came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and since 1979 has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. The chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas, who had been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac Barrow, and then in 1669 by Isaac Newton.

Prof. Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great Scientific development of the first half of the 20th Century. One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.

Prof. Stephen Hawking's many publications include: The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime with G F R Ellis, General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey, with W Israel, and 300 Years of Gravity, with W Israel. Prof. Stephen Hawking has 3 popular books published; his best seller A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays and most recently in 2001, The Universe in a Nutshell.

There are .pdf and .ps versions of his full publication list. Prof. Stephen Hawking has 12 honorary degrees, was awarded the CBE in 1982, and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. Prof. Stephen Hawking is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes and is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

Prof. Stephen Hawking continues to combine family life (he has three children and one grandchild), and his research into theoretical physics together with an extensive programme of travel and public lectures. Prof. Stephen Hawking suffers from ALS.

What is ALS?

ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease. It is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease that is characterized by degeneration of a select group of nerve cells and pathways (motor neurons) in the brain and spinal cord. This loss of motor neurons leads to progressive paralysis of the voluntary muscles. The heart is not a voluntary muscle, and therefore, remains unaffected by the disease. However, since breathing is controlled voluntarily by the chest muscles, death usually occurs when the chest muscles are no longer able to help the lungs achieve adequate oxygenation. Generally, there is little impairment of the brain or the senses.

"Amyotrophic" means:A = absence ofmyo = muscletrophic = nourishmentlateral = side (of spine)sclerosis = hardening or scarring ALS is not contagious, but it is fatal.For the most part, the battle is short, with 80% losing their lives within three to five years of diagnosis. While between 10% and 20% live ten years or more after diagnosis, others live only a few months. While the cause is unknown, research is being conducted in areas relating to genetic predispositions, viral or infectious agents, environmental toxins and immunological changes. For some people, the muscles for speaking, swallowing or breathing are the first to be affected. This is known as bulbar ALS.

The term "bulbar" refers to the motor neurons located in the brain stem, that control the muscles used for chewing, swallowing, and speaking. ALS symptoms, and the order in which they occur, vary from one person to another. In 85% of cases, ALS effects the lower portion of the spinal cord first. This is known as limb onset ALS. In these cases, muscle weakness, cramps and weakened reflexes affects the muscles in the arms and legs as the first signs of ALS. The rate of muscle loss can vary significantly from person to person with some patients having long periods with very slow degeneration. Signs and Symptoms Upper Motor Neuron Degeneration muscle stiffness or rigidity emotional lability (decreased ability to control emotions) excessive fatigue dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) dyspnea (shortness of breath) dysarthria (a speech disorder caused by impairment of the muscles used for speaking) incresed or 'b risk' reflexesgait spasticiy Lower Motor Neuron Degeneration muscle weakness and atrophy involuntary contraction of muscle fibres muscle cramps weakened reflexes flaccidity (decreased muscle tone)difficulty swallowing disordered articulation shortness of breath at rest.

Is ALS a Rare Disease?

ALS is not considered a rare disease. Approximately 2,500-3,000 Canadians currently live with ALS. 2 or 3 Canadians lose their battle to this devastating disease every day. In Ontario, roughly 1,000 people have ALS at any one time. "ALS is clearly the most common cause of neurological death on an annual basis," Dr. Michael Strong, clinician at the University Health Sciences Centre and research scientist at the Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario.

What Causes ALS?

We don't really know what causes ALS, but we do know that it can strike any adult at any time. While the usual age at onset is between 45 and 65, people as young as 17 have been diagnosed in the past. Between 5 and 10% of ALS cases are found in the same families, meaning that they are "familial", and are definitely linked genetically. But for the most part, diagnosis is sporadic and we don't know how it is caused.

What are the early symptoms?

ALS usually becomes apparent either in the legs, the arms, the throat or the upper chest area. Some people begin to trip and fall, some may notice muscle loss in their hands and arms and some find it hard to swallow and slur their speech. ALS is difficult to diagnose. There is no specific test available that will either rule out or confirm the presence of ALS. Diagnosis is usually made through a 'diagnosis of exclusions'. Neurologists conduct a number of tests, thereby ruling out other disorders that may cause similar symptoms, such as strokes or multiple sclerosis and if nothing else is positive and yet the symptoms continue to worsen, ALS is often the reason.

What are the effects of ALS?

Because ALS frequently takes its toll before being positively diagnosed, many patients are debilitated before learning they have ALS. The disease usually does not affect the senses - taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing - or the mind. ALS has a devastating effect on patients and their families. As they cope with the prospect of advancing disability and eventually death, it consumes their financial and emotional reserves. It is a costly disease in its later stages, demanding both extensive nursing care and expensive equipment.

What can be done about ALS?

There is no known cure at this time and very little in the way of treatment that will have an effect on the disease itself.

Is there hope for people with ALS?

Research is looking to find not only the cause of the disease so that a cure can be developed but also other medications or treatments that can help until a cure is found. With improved knowledge about ALS, healthcare providers and families can help people living with ALS live life more fully. The services offered by the ALS Society of Ontario help improve the quality of life for those who live with ALS and their families.

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Series-Disabled Legend Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig was born on 19 June, 1903 in the Yorkville section of Manhattan, USA and died on 2 June, 1941, at 10:10 p.m., 16 years to the day after he replaced Wally Pipp at first base, Henry Louis Gehrig died at his home at 5204 Delafield Avenue, in the Fieldston section of the Bronx, New York.

Upon hearing the news, Babe Ruth and his wife Claire went to the Gehrig's house to console Eleanor. Mayor LaGuardia ordered flags in New York to be flown at half-staff, and Major League ballparks around the nation did likewise.

Following the funeral at Christ Episcopal Church of Riverdale, Lou Gehrig's remains were cremated and interred on 4 June at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. Lou Gehrig and Ed Barrow are both interred in the same section of Kensico Cemetery, which is next door to Gate of Heaven Cemetery, where the graves of Babe Ruth and Billy Martin are located.

Lou Gehrig's headstone in Kensico Cemetery (the year of his birth was inscribed erroneously as 1905) Eleanor Gehrig never remarried following her husband's passing, dedicating the rest of her life to supporting ALS research. Eleanor died on 6 March, 1984, on her 80th birthday. They had no children.

The Yankees dedicated a monument to Lou Gehrig in center field at Yankee Stadium on 6 July, 1941, the shrine lauding him as, "A man, a gentleman and a great ballplayer whose amazing record of 2,130 consecutive games should stand for all time." Lou Gehrig's monument joined the one placed there in 1932 to Miller Huggins, which would eventually be followed by Babe Ruth's in 1949.

Lou Gehrig's birthplace in Manhattan, 1994 Second Avenue (near E. 103rd Street), is memorialised with a plaque marking the site. Another early residence on E. 94th Street (near Second Avenue) is noted with a plaque. The Gehrigs' white house at 5204 Delafield Avenue in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, where Lou Gehrig died, still stands today on the east side of the Henry Hudson Parkway and is likewise marked by a plaque.

Born Ludwig Heinrich Gehrig was an American baseball player in the 1920s and 1930s, chiefly remembered for his prowess as a hitter and the longevity of his consecutive games played record, which stood for more than a half-century, and the pathos of his tearful farewell from baseball at age 36, when he was stricken with a fatal disease. Popularly called "The Iron Horse" for his durability, Lou Gehrig set several Major League records. Lou Gehrig's record for most career grand slam home runs (23) still stands as of 2008. Lou Gehrig was voted the greatest first baseman of all time by the Baseball Writers' Association. Lou Gehrig was the leading vote-getter on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, chosen by fans in 1999.

Lou Gehrig was a native of New York City, he played for the New York Yankees until his career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now commonly referred to in the United States as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Over a 15-season span between 1925 and 1939, he played in 2,130 consecutive games. The streak ended when Lou Gehrig became disabled with the fatal neuromuscular disease that claimed his life 2 years later. Lou Gehrig's streak, long believed to be one of baseball's few unbreakable records, stood for 56 years until finally broken by Cal Ripken, Jr., of the Baltimore Orioles on 6 September, 1995.

Lou Gehrig accumulated 1,995 runs batted in (RBIs) in 17 seasons with a lifetime batting average of .340, a lifetime on-base percentage of .447, and a lifetime slugging percentage of .632. A 7 time All-Star (the first All-Star game was not until 1933; he did not play in the 1939 game, retiring a week before it was held — at Yankee Stadium), he won the American League's Most Valuable Player award in 1927 and 1936 and was a Triple Crown winner in 1934, leading the American League in batting average, home runs, and RBIs.

Lou Gehrig weighed almost 14 pounds (6.4 kg) at birth, the son of poor German immigrants Heinrich Gehrig and Christina Fack. Lou Gehrig's father was a sheet metal worker by trade, but frequently unemployed due to ill health, so his mother was the breadwinner and disciplinarian. Both parents considered baseball to be a schoolyard game; his domineering mother steered young Lou Gehrig toward a career in business.

Lou Gehrig went to PS 132 in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan and then to Commerce High School, graduating in 1921. Lou Gehrig then studied at Columbia University for 2 years, although he did not graduate. While attending Columbia, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Initially, Lou Gehrig could not play intercollegiate baseball for the Columbia Lions because he had played baseball for a summer professional league during his freshman year. At the time, he was unaware that doing so jeopardised his eligibility to play any collegiate sport. Lou Gehrig was ruled eligible to play on the Lions' football team and was a standout fullback. Lou Gehrig later gained baseball eligibility and joined the Lions on that squad as well.

Lou Gehrig first garnered national attention for his baseball ability while playing in a game at Cubs Park (now Wrigley Field) on June 26, 1920. Lou Gehrig's New York School of Commerce team was playing a team from Chicago's Lane Tech High School, in front of a crowd of more than 10,000 spectators. With his team winning 8-6 in the top of the ninth inning, Lou Gehrig hit a grand slam completely out of the Major League ballpark, an unheard-of feat for a 17-year old high school boy.

Lou Gehrig on the Columbia University baseball team On 18 April, 1923 the same day that Yankee Stadium opened for the first time and Babe Ruth inaugurated the new stadium with a home run, Columbia pitcher Lou Gehrig struck out 17 Williams batters for a team record. However, Columbia lost the game. Only a handful of collegians were at South Field that day, but more significant was the presence of Yankee scout Paul Krichell, who had been trailing Lou Gehrig for some time. It was not Lou Gehrig’s pitching that particularly impressed him. Instead, it was Lou Gehrig’s powerful left-handed hitting. During the time Krichell had been observing the young Columbia ballplayer, Lou Gehrig had hit some of the longest home runs ever seen on various Eastern campuses, including a 450-foot (137 m) home run on 28 April at Columbia's South Field which landed at 116th Street and Broadway. Within 2 months, Lou Gehrig had signed a Yankee contract.

Lou Gehrig joined the New York Yankees midway through the 1923 season and made his debut on 15 June 1923, as a pinch hitter. In his first 2 seasons, he saw limited playing time, mostly as a pinch hitter — he played in only 23 games and was not on the Yankees' 1923 World Series roster. In 1925, he batted 437 times for a respectable .295 batting average with 20 home runs and 68 runs batted in (RBIs).

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in exhibition game at West Point, NY (May 6, 1927) The 23 year old Yankee first baseman's breakout season came in 1926, when he batted .313 with 47 doubles, an American League leading 20 triples, 16 home runs, and 112 RBIs. In the 1926 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Lou Gehrig hit .348 with 2 doubles and 4 RBIs. The Cardinals won a 7 game series, winning 4 games to 3.

In 1927, Lou Gehrig put up one of the greatest seasons by any batter in history. That year, he hit .373, with 218 hits: 52 doubles, 18 triples, 47 home runs, 175 runs batted in, and a .765 slugging percentage.

Despite playing in the shadow of the larger-than-life Ruth for 2/3 of his career, Lou Gehrig was one of the highest run producers in baseball history: he had 509 RBIs during a 3 season stretch (1930-32). Only 2 other players, Jimmie Foxx with 507 and Hank Greenberg with 503, have surpassed 500 RBIs in any 3 seasons; their totals were non-consecutive. (Babe Ruth had 498.) Playing 14 complete seasons, Lou Gehrig had 13 consecutive seasons with 100 or better RBIs (a Major League record he shares with Jimmie Foxx). Lou Gehrig had 6 seasons where he batted .350 or better (with a high of .379 in 1930), plus a 7th season at .349. Lou Gehrig had 8 seasons with 150 or more RBIs, 11 seasons with over 100 walks, 8 seasons with 200 or more hits, and 5 seasons with more than 40 home runs. Lou Gehrig led the American League in runs scored 4 times, home runs 3 times, and RBIs 5 times. Lou Gehrig's 184 RBIs in 1931 is still an American League record as of 2008 and second all-time to Hack Wilson's 191 RBIs in 1930. 3 of the top 6 RBI seasons in baseball history were Lou Gehrig's. Lou Gehrig also holds the baseball record for most seasons with 400 total bases or more, accomplishing this feat 5 times in his career.

During the 10 seasons (1925-1934) in which Lou Gehrig and Ruth were both Yankees and played a majority of games, Lou Gehrig had more home runs than Ruth only once, in 1934, when he hit 49 compared to Ruth’s 22 (Ruth played 125 games that year). They tied at 46 in 1931. Ruth had 424 home runs compared to Lou Gehrig’s 347. Lou Gehrig had more RBIs in 7 years (1925, 1927, 1930-1934) and they tied in 1928. Ruth had 1,316 RBIs compared to Lou Gehrig’s 1,436, although the latter had more hits in 8 years (1925, 1927-28, 1930-34) and a higher slugging percentage in 2 years (1933-34). Lou Gehrig also had a higher batting average in 7 years (1925, 1927-28, 1930, 1932-34). For that span, Lou Gehrig had a .343 batting average, compared to .338 for Ruth.

Lou Gehrig and Carl Hubbell on 1936 Time Magazine coverIn 1932, Lou Gehrig became the first player of the 20th century to hit 4 home runs in a single game, accomplishing the feat on 3 June against the Philadelphia Athletics. Lou Gehrig narrowly missed getting a 5th home run in the game when Athletics center fielder Al Simmons made a leaping catch of another Lou Gehrig-hit fly ball at the centerfield fence. After the game, Manager Joe McCarthy told him, "Well, Lou, nobody can take today away from you..." However, on that same day, John McGraw chose to announce his retirement after 30 years of managing the New York Giants, and so McGraw, not Lou Gehrig, got the headlines in the sports sections the next day and Lou Gehrig, as usual, was overshadowed. The following year, in September 1933, Lou Gehrig married Eleanor Twitchell, the daughter of Chicago Parks Commissioner Frank Twitchell.

In a 1936 World Series cover story about Lou Gehrig and Carl Hubbell, Time magazine proclaimed Lou Gehrig "the game's No. 1 batsman", who "takes boyish pride in banging a baseball as far, and running around the bases as quickly, as possible".

On 1 June 1925, Lou Gehrig entered the game as a pinch hitter, substituting for shortstop Paul "Pee Wee" Wanninger. The next day, 2 June, Yankee manager Miller Huggins started Lou Gehrig in place of regular first baseman Wally Pipp. Wally Pipp was in a slump, as were the Yankees as a team, so Miller Huggins made several lineup changes to boost their performance. 14 years later, Lou Gehrig had played 2,130 consecutive games. In a few instances, Lou Gehrig managed to keep the streak intact through pinch hitting appearances and fortuitous timing; in others, the streak continued despite injuries. For example:

On 23 April 1933, an errant pitch by Washington Senators hurler struck Lou Gehrig in the head. Although almost knocked unconscious, Lou Gehrig recovered and remained in the game.

On 14 June 1933, Lou Gehrig was ejected from a game, along with manager Joe McCarthy, but he had already been at bat, so he got credit for playing the game.

On 13 July 1934, Lou Gehrig suffered a "lumbago attack" and had to be assisted off the field. In the next day's away game, he was listed in the lineup as "shortstop", batting lead-off. In his first and only plate appearance, he singled and was promptly replaced by a pinch runner to rest his throbbing back, never taking the field. A&E's Biography speculated that this illness, which he also described as "a cold in his back", might have been the first symptom of his debilitating disease.

In addition, X-rays taken late in his life disclosed that Lou Gehrig had sustained several fractures during his playing career, although he remained in the lineup despite those previously undisclosed injuries.

Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played stood until 6 September, 1995, when Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. played in his 2,131st consecutive game to establish a new record.

Plaque in St. Petersburg, Fla., where Lou Gehrig collapsed in 1939 during spring training At the midpoint of the 1938 season, Lou Gehrig's performance began to diminish. At the end of that season, he said, "I tired mid season. I don't know why, but I just couldn't get going again." Although his final 1938 stats were respectable (.295 batting average, 114 RBIs, 170 hits, .523 slugging percentage, 689 plate appearances with only 75 strikeouts, and 29 home runs), it was a dramatic drop from his 1937 season (when he batted .351 and slugged .643). In the 1938 post-season his batting average was .286 and all 4 of his hits were singles.

When the Yankees began their 1939 spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida, it was obvious that Lou Gehrig no longer possessed his once-formidable power. Even Lou Gehrig's base running was affected, and at one point he collapsed at Al Lang Field, the Yankees' spring training park at the time in St. Petersburg. By the end of spring training, Lou Gehrig had not hit even one home run. Throughout his career, Lou Gehrig was considered an excellent runner on the basepaths, but as the 1939 season got underway, his co-ordination and speed had deteriorated significantly.
By the end of April, his statistics were the worst of his career, with just 1 RBI and a .143 batting average. Fans and the press openly speculated on Lou Gehrig's abrupt decline. James Kahn, a reporter who wrote often about Lou Gehrig, said in one article:

I think there is something wrong with him. Physically wrong, I mean. I don't know what it is, but I am satisfied that it goes far beyond his ball-playing. I have seen ballplayers 'go' overnight, as lou Gehrig seems to have done. But they were simply washed up as ballplayers. It's something deeper than that in this case, though. I have watched him very closely and this is what I have seen: I have seen him time a ball perfectly, swing on it as hard as he can, meet it squarely — and drive a soft, looping fly over the infield. In other words, for some reason that I do not know, his old power isn't there... Lou Gehrig is meeting the ball, time after time, and it isn't going anywhere.

Lou Gehrig was indeed meeting the ball, with only one strikeout in 28 at-bats. But Joe McCarthy found himself resisting pressure from Yankee management to switch Lou Gehrig to a part-time role. Things came to a head when Lou Gehrig had to struggle to make a routine put-out at first base. The pitcher, Johnny Murphy, had to wait for Lou Gehrig to drag himself over to the bag so he could catch Murphy's throw. Murphy said, "Nice play, Lou."

On 30 April, Lou Gehrig went hitless against the weak Washington Senators. LouGehrig had just played his 2,130th consecutive Major League game.

On 2 May, the next game after a day off, Lou Gehrig approached Joe McCarthy before the game in Detroit against the Tigers and said, "I'm benching myself, Joe", telling the Yankees' skipper that he was doing so "for the good of the team". Joe McCarthy acquiesced and put Ellsworth "Babe" Dahlgren in at first base, and also said that whenever Gehrig wanted to play again, the position was his. Gehrig himself took the lineup card out to the shocked umpires before the game, ending the 14-year stamina streak. Before the game began, the Briggs Stadium announcer told the fans, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time Lou Gehrig's name will not appear on the Yankee lineup in 2,130 consecutive games." The Detroit Tigers fans gave Lou Gehrig a standing ovation while he sat on the bench with tears in his eyes. Lou Gehrig stayed with the Yankees as team captain for a few more weeks, but he never played baseball again.

As Lou Gehrig's debilitation became steadily worse, Eleanor called the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Eleanor's call was transferred to Dr. Charles William Mayo, who had been following Lou Gehrig's career and his mysterious loss of strength. Dr. Mayo told Eleanor to bring Lou Gehrig as soon as possible.

Eleanor and Lou Gehrig flew to Rochester from Chicago, where the Yankees were playing at the time, arriving at the Mayo Clinic on 13 June, 1939. After 6 days of extensive testing at Mayo Clinic, the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was confirmed on 19 June, Lou Gehrig's 36th birthday. The prognosis was grim: rapidly increasing paralysis, difficulty in swallowing and speaking, and a life expectancy of fewer than 3 years, although there would be no impairment of mental functions. Eleanor Gehrig was told that the cause of ALS was unknown but it was painless, non-contagious and cruel — the central nervous system is destroyed but the mind remains fully aware to the end.

Lou Gehrig often wrote letters to Eleanor, and in one such note written shortly afterwards, said (in part):

The bad news is lateral sclerosis, in our language chronic infantile paralysis. There isn't any cure... there are very few of these cases. It is probably caused by some germ...Never heard of transmitting it to mates... There is a 50-50 chance of keeping me as I am. I may need a cane in 10 or 15 years. Playing is out of the question...

Following Lou Gehrig's visit to the Mayo Clinic, he briefly rejoined the Yankees in Washington, DC. As his train pulled into Union Station, he was greeted by a group of Boy Scouts, happily waving and wishing him luck. Lou Gehrig waved back, but he leaned forward to his companion, a reporter, and said, "They're wishing me luck — and I'm dying."

On 21 June, the New York Yankees announced Lou Gehrig's retirement and proclaimed 4 July, 1939, "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium. Between games of the Independence Day doubleheader against the Washington Senators, the poignant ceremonies were held on the diamond. In its coverage the following day, The New York Times said it was "Perhaps as colourful and dramatic a pageant as ever was enacted on a baseball field [as] 61,808 fans thundered a hail and farewell". Dignitaries extolled the dying slugger and the members of the 1927 Yankees World Championship team, known as "Murderer's Row", attended the ceremonies. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia called Lou Gehrig "the greatest prototype of good sportsmanship and citizenship" and Postmaster General James Farley concluded his speech by predicting, "For generations to come, boys who play baseball will point with pride to your record."

Yankees Manager Joe McCarthy, struggling to control his emotions, then spoke of Lou Gehrig, with whom there was a close, almost father and son-like bond. After describing Lou Gehrig as "the finest example of a ballplayer, sportsman, and citizen that baseball has ever known", Joe McCarthy could stand it no longer. Turning tearfully to Lou Gehrig, the manager said, "Lou, what else can I say except that it was a sad day in the life of everybody who knew you when you came into my hotel room that day in Detroit and told me you were quitting as a ballplayer because you felt yourself a hindrance to the team. My God, man, you were never that."

The Yankees retired Lou Gehrig's uniform number "4", making him the first player in Major League Baseball history to be accorded that honor. Lou Gehrig was given many gifts, commemorative plaques, and trophies. Some came from VIPs; others came from the stadium's groundskeepers and janitorial staff. Footage of the ceremonies shows Lou Gehrig being handed various gifts, and immediately setting them down on the ground, because he no longer had the arm strength to hold them. The Yankees gave him a silver trophy with their signatures engraved on it. Inscribed on the front was a special poem written by The New York Times writer John Kieran. The trophy cost only about $5, but it became one of Lou Gehrig's most prized possessions. It is currently on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After the presentations and remarks by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig addressed the crowd:

"Fans, for the past 2 weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent 6 years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next 9 years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift — that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body — it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you."

Lou Gehrig at Yankee Stadium, 4 July, 1939

The crowd stood and applauded for almost 2 minutes. Lou Gehrig was visibly shaken as he stepped away from the microphone, and wiped the tears away from his face with his handkerchief. Babe Ruth came over and hugged him as a band played "I Love You Truly" and the crowd chanted "We love you, Lou". The New York Times account the following day called it "one of the most touching scenes ever witnessed on a ball field", that made even hard-boiled reporters "swallow hard".

In December 1939, Lou Gehrig was elected unanimously to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in a special election by the Baseball Writers Association, waiving the waiting period normally required after a ballplayer's retirement. At age 36, he was the youngest player to be so honoured.

"Don't think I am depressed or pessimistic about my condition at present," Lou Gehrig wrote following his retirement from baseball. Struggling against his ever-worsening physical condition, he added, "I intend to hold on as long as possible and then if the inevitable comes, I will accept it philosophically and hope for the best. That's all we can do."

In October 1939, he accepted Mayor LaGuardia's appointment to a 10 year term as a New York City Parole Commissioner and was sworn into office on 2 January, 1940. The Parole Commission commended the ex-ballplayer for his "firm belief in parole, properly administered", stating that Lou Gehrig "indicated he accepted the parole post because it represented an opportunity for public service. Lou Gehrig had rejected other job offers – including lucrative speaking and guest appearance opportunities – worth far more financially than the $5,700 a year commissionership." Lou Gehrig visited New York City's correctional facilities, but insisted that they not be covered by news media. Lou Gehrig, as always, quietly and efficiently performed his duties. Lou Gehrig was often helped by his wife Eleanor, who would guide his hand when he had to sign official documents. About a month before his death, when Lou Gehrig reached the point where his deteriorating physical condition made it impossible for him to continue in the job, he quietly resigned.

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What Is ALS?

ALS is one of the most common neuromuscular diseases worldwide, and people of all races and ethnic backgrounds are affected.

ALS is short for, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's Disease, or Maladie de Charcot) is a progressive, usually fatal, neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement.

Between 1 to 2 people per 100,000 develop ALS each year. ALS most commonly strikes people between 40 and 60 years of age, but younger and older people can also develop the disease.

Scientists have not found a definitive cause for ALS and the onset of the disease can be linked to a variety of risk factors. It is believed that one or more of the following factors are responsible for the majority of ALS cases. Researchers suspect a virus, exposure to neurotoxins or heavy metals, DNA defects, immune system abnormalities, and enzyme abnormalities as the leading causes of the disease.

The onset of ALS may be so subtle that the symptoms are frequently overlooked. The earliest symptoms may include twitching, cramping, or stiffness of muscles; muscle weakness affecting an arm or a leg, and/or slurred and nasal speech.

Men are affected slightly more often than women.

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Dementia Series-Disabled Legend James Doohan

James Doohan was born on 3 March 1920 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. James died on 20 July 2005 due to complications from pneumonia. James Doohan, pronounced /ˈduːən/ (DOO-ən), was the youngest of 4 children of Sarah and William Patrick Doohan, recent Catholic refugees from predominantly Protestant Bangor during the Irish War of Independence (also known as the Anglo-Irish War). James' father was a pharmacist, veterinarian, and dentist, and his mother was a homemaker. James Doohan's father is said to have invented an early form of high-octane gasoline in 1923. In James Doohan's 1996 autobiography, he tells of his father's alcoholism and how he tormented his family. James Doohan's family moved to Sarnia, Ontario and James Doohan attended high school at the Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School (SCITS), where he excelled in mathematics and science. In addition to his studies at Sarnia, James Doohan enrolled in the 102 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.

After the war, James Doohan started his acting career. Disheartened by the laughable quality of a radio drama, he privately studied Shakespeare. James Doohan's work began with a CBC radio show appearance on January 12, 1946. James Doohan took a drama class in Toronto, and later won a two-year scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where his classmates included Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen, Tony Randall and Richard Boone. For several years James Doohan would shuttle between Toronto and New York as work demanded. During this period he appeared on some 4000 radio programs and 400 television programs, and earned a reputation for his versatility. In the mid-1950s he appeared as forest ranger Timber Tom (the northern counterpart of Buffalo Bob) in the Canadian version of Howdy Doody. Coincidentally, fellow Canadian and Star Trek cast member William Shatner appeared simultaneously as Ranger Bill in the American version. James Doohan and Shatner also appeared on the 1950s Canadian science fiction series Space Command.

James Doohan played the lead role in the CBC TV drama production "Flight into Danger", based on Arthur Hailey's novel Runway Zero-Eight, later adapted as Terror in the Sky and spoofed in Airplane!. James Doohan's credits also included The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Bewitched, Fantasy Island, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and Bonanza. In the Bonanza episode, "Gift of Water" (1962), he co-starred with actress Majel Barrett who would later be cast in the role of Star Trek's Nurse Chapel. James Doohan appeared as an assistant to the President of the United States in 2 episodes of Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea.

James Doohan was an Actor best known for his role as Scotty on the TV series Star Trek. James Doohan is known almost exclusively for playing chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott on the 1960s TV series Star Trek and the movies, cartoons and parodies which followed. James is the Scotty in the phrase "Beam me up, Scotty," made popular by the original series. (Ironically, the exact phrase "Beam me up, Scotty" was never spoken in the series, though many variations on it were.)James Doohan was back in the news in May of 2000 when his 2nd wife gave birth to their 3rd child, making him a father at age 80.

After his death in 2005, a small portion of James Doohan's ashes were set aside to be blasted into space aboard a commercial rocket. Launched on 29 April 2007, the rocket had a brief sub-orbital flight before crashing in the San Andres Mountains in New Mexico.

James Doohan married his 2nd wife, Wendey, in 1975, when James Doohan was 55 and she was 19. The couple had 3 children; James Doohan also had 4 children from a previous marriage... James Doohan suffered from diabetes and Parkinson's disease in his last years. In July of 2004, his family announced that James Doohan also had been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease; the next month a Star Trek convention was thrown in his honour, titled "Beam Me Up, Scotty...One Last Time."

Outside of his performances in Star Trek and other television shows and films, James Doohan was also a wounded combat veteran of World War II. Following his success with Star Trek, he supplemented his income and showed continued support for his fans by making numerous public appearances. James Doohan often went to great lengths to buoy the large number of fans who have been inspired to make their own accomplishments in engineering and other fields, as a result of James Doohan's work and his encouragement. James Doohan was considered by some to be one of the most giving and affordable stars of the Star Trek franchise.

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