theirvins / CC

It's with deep regret and sadness that we announce the passing of Paul Harvey—a man who for decades used his voice to speak up against the injustices suffered by animals.

As America's most listened-to radio personality, Mr. Harvey formed a connection with his audience like none other. His quirky delivery style and fascinating tidbits drew in a loyal audience of more than 25 million listeners.

Mr. Harvey used his popular radio show to call attention to cruelty to animals on numerous occasions, earning him a PETA Humanitarian Award and my unending admiration. Mr. Harvey often told his listeners of the cruelty, redundancy, and worthlessness of animal experiments and spoke out forcefully in support of animal rights activists. Fearlessly opinionated, he criticized the Boy Scouts and the military for killing animals in survival exercises and educated public about the cruelty inherent in circuses.

One of our fondest memories is the day he denounced the National Institutes of Health for funding a researcher who gave baboons hallucinogenic drugs and shocked them until they went into convulsions, resulting in brain damage. His determination to open his listeners' eyes to the gut-wrenching facts about testing on animals changed millions of minds and saved countless animals' lives.

While Mr. Harvey's powerful voice is now silent, the people he touched will continue to spread his message of compassion for animals.

Posted by Kathy Guillermo

hollywoodgrind / CC

We at PETA were all saddened to hear about the passing of fashion maven Mr. Blackwell. Before the Fug Girls took up their Fugging and before Joan Rivers attacked the red carpet, Mr. Blackwell was releasing his yearly "Ten Worst Dressed Women" list.

There are a couple of reasons why Mr. Blackwell was so well-loved at PETA. First, his list was the inspiration for our own infamous Worst-Dressed List of notorious fur-addicts. His lists included the most biting barbs and were packed with puns and alliterative allusions (he rhymed, too, but I'm not very good at that). We loved that his 2006 list included fur hag Sharon Stone, whom he described as "an over-the-hill Cruella DeVille." Of course, we had already included her in our 2001 list, saying, "Put your fur coat away, Sharon. We saw enough of that tired old beaver in Basic Instinct."

We've agreed with Mr. Blackwell on more than just those two occasions, though. He described Madonna as follows: "From Ghetto Glam to Rhinestone Cowgirl to Mrs. Guy Ritchie. Any way you label it, she's still just kitschy, kitschy, kitschy." We said of the Material Girl: "The animal on her back is as dead as her film career—and duck-hunting hubby Guy Ritchie is not going to revive either." Whoopsie, I guess those little barbs aren't too relevant anymore!

Mr. Blackwell also agreed with us on the subject of the Trollsen Twins, saying of Hairy-Kate, "She resembles a tattered toothpick trapped in a hurricane." And finally, both we and Mr. Blackwell elected to pull Britney Spears off of our respective Worst-Dressed Lists in 2007; PETA decided that she needed a break from everyone, and Mr. Blackwell decided it was inappropriate to mock her "when her personal life [was] in such upheaval."

What can we say? Great minds think alike, and Mr. Blackwell was truly a great mind—2008 won't be quite the same without his list. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our inspiration: the king of catty, Mr. Blackwell.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

wktv / CC

I'm very sad to say that George Carlin passed away last night. The Grammy and Emmy winner was truly an icon in the world of comedy and will be sorely missed by many for his humor and passion. One thing many of you may not be aware of is that Carlin frequently had animal rights messages in his work. One of my personal favorite Carlin quotes comes from his book Brain Droppings, in which he said, "And I think people have a lot of nerve locking up a tiger and charging four dollars to let a few thousand worthless humans shuffle past him every day. What a shi**y thing to do. Humans must easily be the meanest species on Earth. Probably the only reason there are any tigers left is because they don't taste good."

With his solid wit and enthusiasm, he brought a pro-animal message to many people who may not have received it otherwise. On the veg front, Carlin has said, "Eating meat is one thing, but this whole beef-rancher-manure-cattle-hamburger side show is a different skillet of sh** altogether. Each year, Americans eat 38 billion hamburgers. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of red meat. Cattle consume one half of all the fresh water consumed on Earth. The sixty million people who will starve this year could be adequately fed if Americans reduced their meat intake to just 10 percent."

Even though Carlin has passed on, his words will live on and we really appreciate his zeal and fervor for animals. "And yet, in spite of all these examples of creature mayhem, I will not strike a dog, I will not chase and taunt a bull around a ring, and I will not squeeze an animal's testicles just to give the yokels a better show," said Carlin in one of the many pro-animal excerpts from Brain Droppings. We'll always remember you!

In honor of George's extremely popular "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" and his passion for animals, we'd like to include our own list of "Seven Videos You Can Never Show on Television." The following list is a sampling of our many banned television ads:

Seven Videos You Can Never Show on Television
In Honor of George Carlin

1. Sexy Vegetables PSA
   Rude food. We promise that pasta and vegetables have never been this sexy or satisfying!


2. Wrong Meeting?
   Our award-winning animal birth control (ABC) ad, featuring one very controversial character


3. Buy One, Get One Killed
   A PSA that really puts the whole "responsible breeder" BS into perspective


4. Milk Gone Wild
   Your favorite video gone udderly wrong


5. Sex and the Kitty
   PETA's pro-spaying/neutering ad shows animatronic cats doing what kitties who are left "intact" do—have sex, that is


6. Sex Talk
   Another award-winning ABC ad, featuring one very interesting conversation you've probably never had with your parents


7. Sexy Sausage: Director's Cut
   High cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, hormonal imbalances, and other causes of impotence can be virtually eliminated (and even cured) with a low-fat vegan diet

Posted by Christine Dore

In case any of you missed it, actor and gun-enthusiast Charlton Heston died over the weekend. So anyone who’s been patiently waiting in line to try and pry the guns from his cold, dead hands can go ahead and do so now. While part of me is sad to see one of my childhood heroes go (Ben Hur pretty much changed my life), I’m sure there are plenty of orphaned deer who don’t share those sentiments. Anyway, RIP Charlton H. I’m guessing they probably don’t allow people to hunt defenseless animals with high-powered assault rifles in heaven, but hopefully he’ll be able to find a more peaceful hobby in the afterlife.

Chieftan.com / CC

The sudden loss of Dame Anita Roddick, who pioneered the sale of cruelty-free beauty products in her Body Shop stores in the '70s—declaring in letters a foot high, 'against animal tests'—has left us a bit shaken at the PETA offices today.

From the opening of her first Body Shop store in Brighton in 1974 to her decision last year to enter into a partnership with L'Oreal in order to show that company how easy it is to run a successful business without supporting unethical practices like animal experimentation, Anita Roddick never once compromised her stated goal of "putting idealism back on the agenda" or stopped for one moment in her quest to show by example that kindness not only has a role in a successful business but that it can be its driving force.

It is not an overstatement to say that Anita Roddick ushered animal rights into the mainstream with her work to show the strong demand for products not tested on animals. She was a courageous, progressive pioneer, who risked her business to be the first corporation to announce her staunch support for a ban on cosmetics and toiletries tests on animals. She will take her place in history as a woman who helped to bring a sense of social justice and ethical practices into the business world, but we will always remember her as a deeply compassionate soul who was a true friend to animals.

She will be greatly missed, and not the least by our Senior VP, Dan Mathews, for whom she once cooked a vegan breakfast! We are all profoundly indebted to the great strides she took to make the world a better place for humans and animals alike.

idv/Creative Commons

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of PETA booster Luciano Pavarotti this morning. In addition to his legendary voice and his pioneering work bringing an appreciation for opera and classical music to millions of new people around the world, Pavarotti was known for his kindness, his compassion, and his philanthropic work, raising his voice on behalf of animals on many occasions throughout his life.

In 1998, Pavarotti lent his name and his considerable influence to PETA’s campaign to raise animal welfare standards in Taiwan—where scores of homeless dogs were rounded up by garbage collectors to be poisoned, electrocuted, drowned or slowly starved. The cruelty touched Pavarotti deeply, and, with his help, the campaign resulted in the first ever animal welfare law in that country, which has since passed progressive legislation banning circuses and prohibiting the export of exotic animals as pets. Pavarotti also raised his voice for animals who are electrocuted, gassed, and drowned in the fur industry, having signed another PETA petition against fur following one of his performances at LaScala.

Pavarotti's great voice will be missed around the world, and at PETA, he will be particularly missed as a powerful voice for animals.

I’m sure you heard the news that Tammy Faye Messner (formerly Bakker) passed away this weekend after a long battle with colon cancer.

Tammy Faye definitely had it rough, (check out the enjoyable documentary The Eyes of Tammy Faye if you’re interested in that part of her life), but she always managed to face the world with two very important things: her trademark chipper attitude and loads of mascara. And it was those two things that led us to get in touch with her back in 2003 to see if she’d be interested in helping with our Caring Consumer campaign. We found out that Tammy Faye loved animals and she was horrified to find out what happens to them in labs, so she jumped at the chance to help.

Tammy Faye clearly got the concept of true Christian compassion, and we’re proud to have had her grace the cover of our cruelty-free shopping guide.

RIP Tammy Faye.