obituary

Stories 1981 - 2000 | << Prev   Next >>

Gilligan's Island Professor Dead at 89

Russell Johnson was the last surviving male cast member

(Newser) - Only Mary Ann and Ginger are left now. Russell Johnson, who played "the professor" on Gilligan's Island, has died at age 89, reports E! Online . Johnson has a long list of acting credits to his name, but it was his role on that show from 1964-67 that is...

Father of Kung Fu Movies Dead at 106
 Father of Kung Fu 
 Movies Dead at 106 
obituary
Jan 7, 2014 8:31 AM CST

Father of Kung Fu Movies Dead at 106

Run Run Shaw launched careers of Chow Yun-fat, John Woo

(Newser) - Run Run Shaw might not be a household name, but these are: Chow Yun-fat and John Woo, who got their starts at his studio, and Quentin Tarantino, who was one of many filmmakers inspired by him. Shaw, the Hong Kong producer who is considered the father of the kung fu...

Phil Everly of Everly Brothers Dead at 74

They had a huge influence on early rock

(Newser) - Phil Everly is dead at age 74 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the obituaries are paying homage to just how much he and brother Don influenced the early days of rock and roll as the Everly Brothers. Songs such as "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I...

Fresh Prince&#39;s Uncle Phil Dies
 Fresh Prince's Uncle Phil Dies 
OBITUARY
Jan 1, 2014 12:47 PM CST

Fresh Prince's Uncle Phil Dies

James Avery was 65

(Newser) - James Avery , who memorably starred as Will Smith's gruff Uncle Phil on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, has died at the age of 65, TMZ reports. Avery had reportedly recently undergone open heart surgery, and died from complications in a Los Angeles hospital last night. His wife Barbara had...

AK-47 Inventor Dead at 94
 AK-47 Inventor Dead at 94 
obituary
Dec 23, 2013 1:03 PM CST

AK-47 Inventor Dead at 94

Mikhail Kalashnikov invented the rifle while in his 20s

(Newser) - A man whose last name is all but certain to be remembered long after he has been forgotten has died at age 94. Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle, was hospitalized in mid-November, after weathering heart and intestinal problems; a cause of death will be released post-autopsy. In...

Seagram Heir, Jewish Congress Prez Bronfman Dead at 84

Won Medal of Freedom for work with World Jewish Congress

(Newser) - Edgar M. Bronfman Sr., the billionaire businessman and longtime president of the World Jewish Congress, which lobbied the Soviets to allow Jews to emigrate and helped spearhead the search for hidden Nazi loot, died yesterday. He was 84. The Canadian-born Bronfman made his fortune with his family's Seagram's...

Endtimes Finally Here for Doomsday Prophet Camping

Preacher who erroneously predicted the rapture thrice dead at 92

(Newser) - It turns out the end was nigh for Harold Camping, just not quite as nigh as he thought. The preacher, who thrice predicted the date of the rapture without apparent success, has died at age 92, Family Radio Network revealed today. Camping passed away at home with his family on...

Iconic Country Singer Ray Price Dead at 87

His styles ranged from honky-tonk to the lush Nashville sound

(Newser) - A link to the golden days of Hank Williams and 78rpm records is gone: Legendary country singer Ray Price died today at home in Texas at age 87, Billboard reports. He had battled pancreatic cancer since last year. "I am at peace. I love Jesus," he said in...

Oscar Winner Joan Fontaine Dead at 96


 Oscar Winner 
 Joan Fontaine 
 Dead at 96 
obituary
Dec 16, 2013 12:32 AM CST

Oscar Winner Joan Fontaine Dead at 96

Sister of Olivia de Havilland feuded with sibling for years

(Newser) - Joan Fontaine, who won the Best Actress Oscar in 1941 for her role opposite Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion, died peacefully in her sleep at her Carmel, Calif., home yesterday at age 96, the AP reports. Fontaine was also nominated for Oscars for her lead roles in The ...

Peter O&#39;Toole Dead at 81
 Peter O'Toole 
 Dead at 81 
OBITUARY
Dec 15, 2013 12:20 PM CST

Peter O'Toole Dead at 81

'Lawrence of Arabia' star retired from acting in 2012

(Newser) - Actor Peter O'Toole , the legend of stage and screen perhaps best known for Lawrence of Arabia, has died at the age of 81, his agent confirms to the BBC . The Brit was nominated eight times for an Oscar but was win-less in his lifetime , though he did begrudgingly accept...

Sound of Music Actress Eleanor Parker Dead at Age 91

She was nominated for 3 Oscars in the 1950s

(Newser) - Eleanor Parker, who was nominated for Academy Awards three times for her portrayals of strong-willed women and played a scheming baroness in The Sound of Music, has died at 91. Family friend Richard Gale said Parker died today morning due to complications from pneumonia. "She passed away peacefully, surrounded...

'Mythic' Mandela Dominates Front Pages

Papers around the world pay tribute to a hero

(Newser) - As the world mourns Nelson Mandela , newspapers around the globe have turned their front pages into tributes to the South African statesman who died yesterday at 95 . Here's a look at some highlights:
  • "Mr. Mandela was that rarity among revolutionaries and moral dissidents: a capable statesman, comfortable with
...

Nobel-Winning Author Lessing Dies at 94

'The Golden Notebook' scribe said Nobel win was a 'bloody disaster'

(Newser) - Doris Lessing, the Nobel prize-winning, free-thinking, world-traveling, and often-polarizing author of The Golden Notebook and dozens of other novels that reflected her own improbable journey across the former British empire, has died. She was 94. Her publisher, HarperCollins says that the author of more than 50 works of fiction, nonfiction...

Famed Chef Charlie Trotter, 54, Found Dead

Son finds him unresponsive in home

(Newser) - Famed Chicago chef Charlie Trotter was found unresponsive in his home this morning and was pronounced dead at a local hospital, the Tribune reports. He was 54. In 2012, Trotter closed his landmark restaurant , Charlie Trotter's, after 25 years so he could focus on other pursuits that included pursuing...

Man Who Famously Blew Up Whale Dead at 84

George Thomas Thornton gained national attention in 1970

(Newser) - An Oregon highway engineer who famously blew up a dead beached whale with a half-ton of dynamite in 1970 died last Sunday at the age of 84. George Thomas Thornton gained national attention over the exploding whale, and the act endured for decades thanks to a video that shows giant...

Lou Reed's Wife Places Tender Obit in Local Paper

Says he spent last days 'dazzled by the beauty and power and softness of nature'

(Newser) - Lou Reed's wife, artist and musician Laurie Anderson, has offered up a tribute to her late husband and the Long Island community they loved via an obituary she placed in the East Hampton Star yesterday. Stereogum has a copy: "Even though we're city people this is our...

Lou Reed Dead at 71
 Lou Reed 
 Dead at 71 
OBITUARY
Oct 27, 2013 12:47 PM CDT

Lou Reed Dead at 71

Velvet Underground veteran had liver transplant in May

(Newser) - Iconic rocker Lou Reed has died today at the age of 71, reports Rolling Stone in a lengthy obituary celebrating the "massively influential songwriter and guitarist who helped shape nearly fifty years of rock music." No cause of death was immediately released, but Reed underwent a life-saving liver...

Voice of The Simpsons' Mrs. Krabappel Dead at 70

Character will be 'retired' with death of actress Marcia Wallace

(Newser) - Actress Marcia Wallace, best known as the voice of Springfield Elementary teacher Mrs. Krabappel on The Simpsons and wisecracking secretary Carol Kester on The Bob Newhart Show, has died, Entertainment Weekly reports. She was 70 years old. "She was beloved by all at The Simpsons and we intend to...

Yugoslav Dictator's Widow Dead at 88

Jovanka Broz was one of 'last most reliable witnesses' of Yugoslavia's history

(Newser) - Jovanka Broz, who was married to Yugoslavia's dictator, Josip Broz Tito, for nearly 30 years but lived in isolation as the federation he had built broke apart, died today. She was 88. Broz died of heart failure at Belgrade's emergency hospital, where she had been receiving care since...

Former House Speaker Tom Foley Dead at 84

Foley also served as US ambassador to Japan

(Newser) - The former leader of the US House of Representatives, Tom Foley, has died at the age of 84 in his Washington home. Foley's wife, Heather, confirmed the death of the Washington state Democrat. Foley also served as US ambassador to Japan for four years during the Clinton administration. But...

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