obituary – News Stories About obituary - Page 117

Jan 6, 2009 1:31 PM CST

Billionaire Merckle Kills Self

(Newser) - German businessman Adolf Merckle, 74, killed himself yesterday in the face of mounting debt and a crumbling multibillion dollar empire, Bloomberg reports. Merckle’s personal fortune of $9.2 billion put him 94th on Forbes' list of the world’s richest people, but his holding company, which owned stake in...

Bell, Carter's AG, Dead at 90

Jan 5, 2009 5:24 PM CST

Bell, Carter's AG, Dead at 90

Bell defanged Jim Crow as appellate court judge

(Newser) - Griffin Bell, a Southerner who opposed racial segregation and led the Justice Department under President Carter, died today at age 90, the New York Times reports. Bell handled damage control as a post-Nixon attorney general, de-politicizing the Justice Department and the FBI. His earlier rulings as an appeals court judge,...

Batman's Commissioner Gordon Dies

Jan 5, 2009 2:49 AM CST

Batman's Commissioner Gordon Dies

Pat Hingle, veteran tough-guy actor, mentored young

(Newser) - Actor Pat Hingle—whose characters included Commissioner Gordon in the '90s Batman movies and Norma Rae's father in the 1979 film—has died of blood cancer at his Carolina Beach home at the age of 84, the Wilmington Star-News reports. The Tony Award nominee and Broadway star had said he...

Creator of Pell Grants
Dead at 90

obituary

Jan 1, 2009 5:17 PM CST

Creator of Pell Grants Dead at 90

(Newser) - Claiborne Pell, the quirky blueblood who represented blue-collar Rhode Island in the Senate for 36 years and was the force behind a grant program that has helped tens of millions of Americans attend college, died today of Parkinson's disease. He was 90. Pell sponsored legislation creating the Basic Educational Opportunity...

Anti-Apartheid Crusader Suzman Dead

Obituary

Jan 1, 2009 1:26 PM CST

Anti-Apartheid Crusader Suzman Dead

Was one of few white South African pols to denounce segregation

(Newser) - Anti-apartheid icon Helen Suzman has died peacefully in her Johannesburg home, her daughter announced today. She was 91. Suzman served in South Africa’s parliament at a time when few whites criticized apartheid, and for 13 years was the only legislator to publicly do so. She was twice nominated for...

Jazz Icon Hubbard Dead at 70

Dec 29, 2008 9:02 PM CST

Jazz Icon Hubbard Dead at 70

(Newser) - Grammy-winning jazz giant Freddie Hubbard died today in Sherman Oaks, Calif., a month after having a heart attack, the AP reports. He was 70. Revered among trumpet players, Hubbard collaborated with legends like John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins as he established a blazing, hard-bop style that influenced a generation. "...

Those We Lost in 2008

Dec 27, 2008 8:00 AM CST

Those We Lost in 2008

(Newser) - This year saw the passing of many notable people, from Paul Newman and Michael Crichton to William F. Buckley and designer Yves St. Laurent. Here are a few that made the lists of the NY Times and LA Times:

Tim Russert (b. 1950)—TV journalist and 16-year host of Meet

...

Eartha Kitt Dead at 81

Dec 25, 2008 6:15 PM CST

Eartha Kitt Dead at 81

(Newser) - The versatile and ever-sultry Eartha Kitt died today at age 81, the AP reports. Kitt, with her trademark purr, had a career as a dancer, singer, and actor that spanned six decades. Among her musical hits was “Santa Baby," now in common rotation during the holidays. Kitt, who...

Above All, Pinter Was Remarkable, Loyal Friend

Appreciation

Dec 25, 2008 2:12 PM CST

Above All, Pinter Was Remarkable, Loyal Friend

Playwright lives on in his plays, already considered modern classics

(Newser) - He didn’t always like the plays of Harold Pinter, who died yesterday at 78, but Guardian theater critic Michael Billington says he’s sure they “will endure wind and weather, because he understood the insecurity of human life.” Billington, also Pinter’s biographer, remembers the “poet’...

Theater Giant
Harold Pinter
Dead at 78

OBITUARY

Dec 25, 2008 8:10 AM CST

Theater Giant Harold Pinter Dead at 78

Outspoken playwright was awarded Nobel in 2005

(Newser) - Harold Pinter, one of the foremost playwrights of the 20th century, has died of cancer at the age of 78. He began his career as a poet before writing such classic plays as The Caretaker and The Homecoming, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2005. His widow, Antonia Fraser,...

Deep Throat Made
Newspapers 'Cool'

APPRECIATION

Dec 20, 2008 1:10 PM CST

Deep Throat Made Newspapers 'Cool'

(Newser) - Mark Felt's life inspires an appreciation of a heroic man, but also of the romance and significance of journalism, Hank Stuever writes in the Washington Post. In fact, you could say “that the idea of him had died already, a few years ago, when he allowed the world to...

Actor
Sam Bottoms
Dead at 53

Dec 19, 2008 8:42 AM CST

Actor Sam Bottoms Dead at 53

Appeared in Apocalypse Now , Outlaw Josey Wales

(Newser) - Actor Sam Bottoms, who appeared in Apocalypse Now and some 30 other films, died at his LA home this week of brain cancer at age 53, the Los Angeles Times reports. Bottoms began his film career at age 15 in The Last Picture Show and was cast as surfer Lance...

Weyrich, Who Coined
'Moral Majority,' Dead at 66

OBITUARY

Dec 18, 2008 1:00 PM CST

Weyrich, Who Coined 'Moral Majority,' Dead at 66

Conservative thinker gave name to movement key in GOP rise

(Newser) - Paul Weyrich, the influential conservative who co-founded the Heritage Foundation and coined the term “moral majority,” died today at 66, the Washington Post reports, after years of poor health. A reporter, Weyrich got his Washington entree in 1967 as press secretary for a Colorado senator. At a 1979...

1940s Star
Van Johnson
Dead at 92

Dec 12, 2008 7:11 PM CST

1940s Star Van Johnson Dead at 92

(Newser) - Former film and TV heartthrob Van Johnson died today in New York of natural causes, Variety reports. He was 92. Johnson starred in many movies in the 1940s and 1950s, and was later nominated for an Emmy for his appearance on the TV show Rich Man, Poor Man. Dubbed the...

Pin-Up Pioneer
Bettie Page
Dead at 85

Dec 12, 2008 1:45 AM CST

Pin-Up Pioneer Bettie Page Dead at 85

'50s sensation helped set the stage for sexual revolution

(Newser) - Pin-up queen Bettie Page died yesterday from a heart attack she suffered earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times reports. She was 85. The secretary-turned-model shot to fame in the 1950s through thousands of saucy photographs, many of which featured her nude or in bondage gear. Page, credited with helping...

Sci-Fi Guru
Forrest Ackerman
Dead at 92

OBITUARY

Dec 6, 2008 9:42 AM CST

Sci-Fi Guru Forrest Ackerman Dead at 92

Magazine editor coined term 'sci-fi'

(Newser) - Fright-film magazine writer and editor Forrest J Ackerman—credited with coining the term "sci-fi"—died this week of heart failure, the Los Angeles Times reports. He was 92. Ackerman introduced new generations to horror films with his magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland; he was also known for his...

Broadway Giant Gerald Schoenfeld Dies at 84

OBITUARY

Nov 25, 2008 3:12 PM CST

Broadway Giant Gerald Schoenfeld Dies at 84

Powerful owner reshaped Broadway, New York and nationwide

(Newser) - Gerald Schoenfeld, American’s most influential theater owner, died today at 84. The New York native ran the powerful Shubert Organization for 36 years, heading 17 Broadway theaters, doling out millions, and co-producing Cats, Amadeus, and Les Miserables. Though his cherubic face put observers in mind of a teddy bear,...

Hoops Coach Newell 'Simply the Best There Ever Was'

APPRECIATION

Nov 18, 2008 3:05 PM CST

Hoops Coach Newell 'Simply the Best There Ever Was'

Wooden, Knight just two to praise man who scored Olympic gold, NCAA, NIT titles

(Newser) - Pete Newell will be remembered as perhaps the “greatest basketball coach of all time,” Bruce Jenkins writes for the San Francisco Chronicle. The legendary UC-Berkeley coach died yesterday, at 93; he was the first man to win NIT and NCAA titles and Olympic gold. “He built...

Crichton Was Master Craftsman

appreciation

Nov 5, 2008 5:30 PM CST

Crichton Was Master Craftsman

(Newser) - Michael Crichton's seemingly endless output may not be literature (a statement the late Crichton himself might take issue with), but don't discount the "fine craftsmanship" they entailed, writes Charles McGrath in the New York Times. From Andromeda Strain to Jurassic Park, his "intricately engineered entertainment systems" relied on...

Crichton Dead
of Cancer at 66

Nov 5, 2008 12:24 PM CST

Crichton Dead of Cancer at 66

Jurassic Park author, 66, sold more than 150M copies worldwide

(Newser) - Jurassic Park author and ER creator Michael Crichton died yesterday at 66 after a battle with cancer, Entertainment Tonight reports. “While the world knew him as a great storyteller," Crichton was "a devoted husband, loving father, and generous friend who inspired,” his family said in a...