Knack’s Doug Fieger Dies Of Cancer
The Knack’s Doug Fieger died this past Sunday, as I’m sure many of you know since it was widely covered in the news. I know The Knack performed a couple of times (at least) at the Valley Cultural Center’s summer Concerts in the Park (2005 & 2008). Obviously Fieger cared about the community and will be missed. If any of you knew him, or knew more of his involvement with the Concerts in the Park program, please leave comments.
Doug Fieger, leader of the Los Angeles-based power pop band the Knack who co-wrote and sang on the 1979 No. 1 hit “My Sharona,” has died. He was 57.
Fieger’s sister, Beth Falkenstein, said he died Sunday at his home in Woodland Hills. He had cancer.
“My Sharona” was No. 1 for six weeks. Fieger said the song was inspired by a former girlfriend.
“He was an extraordinary lover of all things popular culture,” Falkenstein said of her brother. “He was an eternal pop teenager but highly intellectual and intense.”
Doug Lars Fieger was born Aug. 20, 1952, in Detroit and grew up in suburban Oak Park, Mich.
After graduating from high school, he went to England to record two albums with the group Sky, his sister said.
The group broke up after moving to Los Angeles. The Knack was formed in 1978 and soon was discovered on the L.A. club scene and signed with Capitol Records.
In its brief moment in the sun, the Knack put the phrase “power pop” into the musical lexicon for its compact, hook-filled, guitar-based rock songs that recalled the sound of the ’60s British Invasion bands, particularly the Beatles and the Kinks.
Their signature white shirts and skinny black ties and vests became a hallmark of the New Wave music scene, which distinguished itself from punk with catchier songs and less overt anger at the political and musical establishment.
Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn, writing in 1979, said the best songs on their debut album “Get the Knack” were “classics of their kind. They reflect perfectly the intense teen emotion that was at the heart of early rock.”
–Times Staff Reports
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Honorary Woodland Hills Mayor Michael Miller Passes Away
Michael Miller, Rest In Peace
I don’t believe I ever met Michael, but by all accounts he was a valuable member of our community and will surely be missed.
The San Fernando Valley Business Journal writes:
Insurance agent and honorary mayor of Woodland Hills Michael Miller died after suffering a heart attack. He was 62.Miller was a familiar face in the west San Fernando Valley from his involvement in not for profit and charitable groups.
Miller opened his State Farm insurance agency in 1981. He served as president of the Fernando Award Foundation, the vice president of the Woodland Hills Neighborhood Council in addition to his seven terms as the honorary mayor of Woodland Hills.
Miller was named a “Small Businessperson of the Year” by the California Assembly in 2002 and honored by State Farm that same year with the “Circle of Excellence” Award. He was also one of State Farm’s Select Agents with the “Legion of Honor.”
Miller is survived by his wife Jennifer; daughter Montana; and son Chandler.
Services take place Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. at St. Bernardine’s Church, 24410 Calvert St. A reception follows at the Warner Center Marriott, 21850 Oxnard St., Woodland Hills.
The Woodland Hills Tarzana Chamber of Commerce writes on their Facebook page:
Michael Miller’s Biography and Background
With over three decades of service in high-profile leadership roles in his community and his industry, Michael Miller is renowned for his strength of character, integrity and for his commanding presence. Standing tall in both stature and in the classic values of goodwill and service to others, Michael’s ceaseless energy and efforts to improve those organizations in which he serves continues to set new heights of achievement for what one can achieve with a positive attitude and lots of hard work.
As the Honorary Mayor of Woodland Hills and owner of a State Farm Insurance Agency, Michael has received numerous accolades from both his industry and the community. In 2002 he received the Joseph Staller Memorial Award for outstanding excellence in the community of Woodland Hills. Michael was also honored in 2002 with the “Small Business Person of the Year” award in the California State Assembly-sponsored event with the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley acknowledging the area’s top leadership. Professionally, State Farm Insurance Companies honored Michael for the “Circle of Excellence” Award in 2002 in addition to being one of State Farm’s Select Agents with the “Legion of Honor.”
Besides serving in his seventh term as Woodland Hills’s Honorary Mayor, Michael serves as president of the Fernando Award Foundation, as vice president of the Woodland Hills Neighborhood Council, as a community advisory board member for the Encino-Tarzana Hospital, and mentors at Pacific Lodge Boys Home. His other credits include chairing the Woodland Hills Family Festival, acting as chairman of the 4th of July Celebration at Pierce College, and he is a past president of the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce. After over 20 years of ongoing work to improve his community, this Vietnam War veteran has finally made his mark overcoming numerous challenges in life through his grace of character and perseverance to overcome obstacles.
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Michael served in the Vietnam War where he emerged with both a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for acts of courage. Michael earned the Bronze Star when, after his weapon jammed, he engaged with the enemy in hand to hand combat, helping to save his company. Three months later while “walking point” ahead of his company, he was shot during a sudden ambush. Although his leg was shattered, he returned to the States making full recovery despite doctor’s predictions that he would never walk again. Through seven operations and a year spent in a V.A. Hospital, Michael learned how to face and overcome all odds through a positive “can do” attitude, an iron will to survive, and an unyielding gratitude for life.
Following his recovery, Michael earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico, then an MBA in accounting from Arizona State University. In addition to completing the curriculum, Michael began his career in community service by getting involved with the Red Cross, the United Way, the Young Republicans Club, and Big Brothers of America who named him “Outstanding Big Brother of the Year.” A few years later, while serving as controller for State Farm Insurance’s Westlake Village office in California, Michael was again acknowledged when he was elected to the prestigious group, “Outstanding Young Men of America.”
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