Badass Isaac Hayes Passes Away

What a tragedy, first Bernie Mac and now Isaac Hayes! The "Duke of New York" has passed away at 65. From Fox News by way of Dirty Harry's:

Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards, died Sunday afternoon, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said. He was 65.

A family member found him unresponsive near a treadmill and he was pronounced dead an hour later at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, according to the sheriff's office. The cause of death was not immediately known.

IMHO, the best Isaac Hayes performance was during the John Carpenter classic, Escape From New York. Watch some of these videos to judge for yourself:



This scene is one of the most powerful cinematic sequences in history. After spending the first half of the movie building up the hardcore aura of Snake Plisken, the Duke (played by Isaac Hayes) shows up unexpectedly in the movie as even more of a badass. They don't make villians like that anymore.



His talent will be difficult to replicate....godspeed.