obituary – News Stories About obituary - Page 131

Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dead at 69

Mar 5, 2008 3:29 AM CST

Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dead at 69

Gary Gygax rocked the gaming world

(Newser) - Widely revered Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax, regarded as the father of role-playing games, has died at his home in Wisconsin after years of health problems, AP reports. He was 69. Together with Dave Arneson, Gygax created the massively popular medieval fantasy Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 that struck...

Famed Tenor di Stefano Dead

Mar 4, 2008 9:53 AM CST

Famed Tenor di Stefano Dead

Brilliant but erratic tenor succumbed to injuries from 2004 attack

(Newser) - Giuseppe di Stefano, the tenor whose short but brilliant career made him an operatic legend, died yesterday at his home near Milan. He was 86. His widow told reporters his death resulted from head injuries dating to 2004, when robbers in Kenya left him temporarily comatose. Di Stefano's superb voice...

Blind Guitarist Healey Dead at 41

Mar 3, 2008 3:25 PM CST

Blind Guitarist Healey Dead at 41

Celebrated Canadian musician recalled for versatility

(Newser) - Acclaimed guitarist Jeff Healey died of cancer at 41 yesterday after battling the disease throughout his life, the Globe and Mail reports. Healey, who lost his eyesight as a child to retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer, sold more than a million albums in the US, racking up hits such...

Buckley Leaves Conservatism Up the Creek

OPINION

Mar 2, 2008 5:45 PM CST

Buckley Leaves Conservatism Up the Creek

No clear inheritor to his thoughtful movement, says Newsweek writer

(Newser) - William F. Buckley may have been the architect of the modern conservative movement, but what will it do without him? Evan Thomas even wonders, in Newsweek, if what he created still exists at all. Buckley was “a man who could spar intensely with the late liberal icons…and then...

Writers Parse Buckley's Legacy

OPINION

Feb 28, 2008 3:36 PM CST

Writers Parse Buckley's Legacy

What ended his brand of conservatism—or does it endure?

(Newser) - William F. Buckley Jr. was a titan on the political scene, carving out his own brand of conservatism. But one day after his death, writers differ on his legacy:

At Slate, Timothy Noah notes Buckley’s more noxious stances—defending segregationists and Joe McCarthy—and says it’s good fortune

...

William F. Buckley Jr. Dies at 82

UPDATED

Feb 27, 2008 10:32 AM CST

William F. Buckley Jr. Dies at 82

Influential conservative columnist founded National Review

(Newser) - Conservative columnist and editor William F. Buckley Jr. died today at age 82; he suffered from diabetes and emphysema. Buckley founded the opinion magazine National Review, hosted the show “Firing Line” and wrote 45 books. The author of God and Man at Yale and defender of Joe McCarthy was...

Auto Worker Powerhouse Doug Fraser
Dead at 91

Feb 25, 2008 2:47 AM CST

Auto Worker Powerhouse Doug Fraser Dead at 91

Ex union boss helped save Chrysler from ruin

(Newser) - Former United Auto Workers president Doug Fraser, who played a vital role in saving Chrysler from bankruptcy, died yesterday at age 91. The cause of death was unknown, but Fraser had been suffering from emphysema, the Detroit Free Press reports. As UAW president during the ’70s and ’80s,...

Literary Pioneer, Filmmaker
Robbe-Grillet Dead at 85

Feb 18, 2008 3:19 PM CST

Literary Pioneer, Filmmaker Robbe-Grillet Dead at 85

Developed the French 'new novel' style

(Newser) - French novelist and filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet died today at 85, AFP reports. A pioneer of the “new novel” literary style, he was best known in the US as the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Last Year at Marienbad (1961). "The Academie Francaise today loses one of its most illustrious members,...

RIP, Steve Fossett

Feb 16, 2008 5:44 AM CST

RIP, Steve Fossett

Daredevil declared dead five months after disappearance

(Newser) - He vanished on a routine flight five months ago, and now daredevil Steve Fossett has been declared dead at the age of 63, the AP reports. The famous world record breaker was last seen flying a small plane over western Nevada where 15-20 private planes have disappeared since 1950. The...

Congressman Lantos Dead at 80

Feb 11, 2008 11:17 AM CST

Congressman Lantos Dead at 80

Californian was the only Holocaust survivor in Congress

(Newser) - Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, has died at 80. The California Democrat disclosed his cancer last month and announced that he wouldn't seek reelection. His widow said in a statement that his life was "defined by courage, optimism, and unwavering dedication to his principles...

Jaws Actor Scheider Dead at 75

Feb 11, 2008 7:39 AM CST

Jaws Actor Scheider Dead at 75

Oscar nominee appeared in more than 60 films

(Newser) - Actor Roy Scheider, famous for his roles in Jaws, All That Jazz, and The French Connection, died yesterday while being treated for multiple myeloma. He was believed to be 75, though he sometimes gave a different age in interviews, reports the Los Angeles Times. He once predicted that the Jaws ...

Indian Guru to the Beatles Dies

Feb 6, 2008 3:22 AM CST

Indian Guru to the Beatles Dies

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought Transcendental Meditation to the West

(Newser) - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Indian guru who inspired the Beatles and founded the Transcendental Meditation movement, died yesterday at his Dutch home, the Guardian reports. He was believed to be 90. Maharishi—known as the “giggling guru” for his playful witticisms—hosted the Beatles for a highly publicized retreat...

Ledger's Ex Appeals for Privacy

Feb 1, 2008 3:56 PM CST

Ledger's Ex Appeals for Privacy

Williams breaks silence, saying her 'heart is broken'

(Newser) - Heath Ledger's ex-fiancee, Michelle Williams, made her first public statement since the actor's death today, asking the press and public to "respect our need to grieve privately." The 27-year-old actress met Ledger on the set of Brokeback Mountain in 2005, the same year their daughter was born. They...

Margaret Truman Daniel Dead

Jan 29, 2008 5:20 PM CST

Margaret Truman Daniel Dead

First Daughter went on to act, sing and write

(Newser) - Margaret Truman Daniel died today at 83 after breaking the mold of First Daughter and embarking on careers in singing, acting, and writing, the Los Angeles Times reports. The go-getter braved opera critics as a singer in the 1940s and '50s before acting alongside Jimmy Stewart on radio and television....

Suharto Leaves Complex Legacy

Jan 28, 2008 11:20 AM CST

Suharto Leaves Complex Legacy

Corrupt, cruel--and fondly remembered

(Newser) - The death of Suharto, Indonesia's ferociously anti-communist dictator for more than 30 years, leaves islanders ambivalent: On the one hand, he created economic prosperity; on the other, he enriched himself and his cronies, and brutally suppressed opponents, leaving hundreds of thousands imprisoned or dead. "He was 50% good and...

Top Mormon Leader Hinckley Dead at 97

Jan 28, 2008 3:55 AM CST

Top Mormon Leader Hinckley Dead at 97

President-prophet brought church closer to American mainstream

(Newser) - Gordon B. Hinckley, at 97 the longest-lived president-prophet in the history of the Mormon church, died yesterday of complications of old age. Hinckley, whose energy and extensive world travels earned comparisons to Pope John Paul II, oversaw his church for 12 years during an era of unprecedented growth, the Los ...

Indonesia Mourns Suharto

Jan 27, 2008 3:00 PM CST

Indonesia Mourns Suharto

Former dictator's sins take backseat as nation grieves

(Newser) - Suharto's critics kept quiet today as Indonesia mourned the former dictator on the streets and around TVs, the New York Times reports. Crowds swarmed an ambulance transporting his body, television channels ran nostalgic accounts of his life, and President Susilo Yudhoyono called on the nation to pray for Suharto, saying,...

Indonesia's Suharto
Dies at Age 86

Jan 27, 2008 2:45 AM CST

Indonesia's Suharto Dies at Age 86

Ruled for 32 years; resigned amid corruption, human rights charges

(Newser) - Former Indonesian president Suharto, a US Cold War ally whose legacy of economic development was marred by charges of human rights abuses and corruption, died today of organ failure at 86, Reuters reports. Suharto ruled for 32 years until being forced out in 1998; his deteriorating health prevented him from...

Brando's Troubled Firstborn Dies

Jan 26, 2008 7:44 PM CST

Brando's Troubled Firstborn Dies

Christian, no stranger to courts, dies at 49 from pneumonia

(Newser) - Christian Brando, the eldest of the late Godfather's nine children, died today from pneumonia at 49. Brando, the product of his iconic father's first marriage, earned the media limelight in 1990 for shooting to death his sister's boyfriend, he LA Times reports. But he was in and out of the...

Hunky Heath Savored Challenges

OPINION

Jan 23, 2008 6:40 AM CST

Hunky Heath Savored Challenges

'Craggy, sexy' actor carved out niche with tough roles

(Newser) - The late Heath Ledger, found dead yesterday in his Manhattan apartment, was a "craggy, sexy" actor who went about his craft with almost painful seriousness, says the Washington Post. He left an undeniable mark in film history, from his role in teen flick 10 Things I Hate About You...