Ronnie Van Zant
On October 20, 1977, a plane carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ran out of fuel outside Gillsburg, Mississippi. The passengers had been informed about potential problems with the Convair CV-240 and were told to brace for a crash. Van Zant died on impact from head injuries suffered after the aircraft struck a tree. Bandmates Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines, along with assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray, were also killed. The rest of the band was seriously injured. Van Zant was 29 years old.
Zanies Comedy Club
Rick Uchwat was born in Austria in 1947. At 4 years old he came to Chicago through refugee camps and Ellis Island. His father was imprisoned by the Nazies during World War II and was held in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. He attended DePaul University for a short time until eventually joining the US Marines. In 1968, Uchwat was sent to Vietnam and was badly injured during the Tet Offensive. Uchwat married Barbara Monahan in 1977. At the age of 64, May 12, 2011, Uchwat died after a battle with lung cancer.