obituary – News Stories About obituary - Page 140

Jun 5, 2007 4:17 AM CDT

NASCAR's 'Genial Dictator' Dead at 74

Bill France Jr. transformed NASCAR into a national pastime

(Newser) - Bill France Jr., the NASCAR chairman who took a Southern pastime and transformed it into a national mania, died at 74 on Monday. Sickly in his final years, the godfather of stock car racing from 1972 to 2000 was nonetheless fiery and irascible until the end. France's father had founded...

Televangelist Falwell Dead
at 73

May 15, 2007 1:09 PM CDT

Televangelist Falwell Dead at 73

Controversial conservative mixed religion, politics

(Newser) - The Rev. Jerry Falwell, who founded the Moral Majority and mixed evangelism with conservative social criticism, died today after collapsing in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He was 73. A lightning rod for controversy, Falwell once called AIDS "the wrath of a just God against homosexuals"...

Ex-Boxing Champ Dies in Crash

May 8, 2007 7:16 AM CDT

Ex-Boxing Champ Dies in Crash

(Newser) - Diego "Chico" Corrales, a former boxing world champion, died last night in a Las Vegas motorcycle crash. Two years to the day before his death at 29, Corrales unified lightweight titles with a come-from-behind knockout of Jose Luis Castillo. "That fight with Jose Luis Castillo will be remembered...

Astronaut
Wally Schirra Dies at 84

May 3, 2007 2:14 PM CDT

Astronaut Wally Schirra Dies at 84

Schirra the third American to orbit the earth, the fifth in space

(Newser) - Astronaut Wally Schirra, a reporter once said, geared up for space flight with "the ease of preparing for a family picnic." The third American to orbit the earth and the fifth ever to fly into space, Shirra died today. He was 84.

Cardinals Pitcher Killed In Crash

Apr 29, 2007 10:33 PM CDT

Cardinals Pitcher Killed In Crash

St. Louis reliever Josh Hancock drove into tow truck, died immediately

(Newser) - Josh Hancock, a Cardinals middle reliever who helped the team attain a championship last season, was killed after driving into a tow truck late at night. The death comes five years after St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile died in his hotel room of coronary artery blockage. It is not...

Rostropovich Dead at 80

Apr 27, 2007 2:23 PM CDT

Rostropovich Dead at 80

Conductor, cellist and champion of artistic freedom dies in his native Russia

(Newser) - Cellist, conductor, and one-time Soviet gadfly Mstislav Rostropovich, who used to instruct his orchestras to "play as if you are being tickled in the sides," died today in Moscow. Rostropovich, whose 17-year-run as the head of the National Symphony Orchestra tranformed it from a middling ensemble to one...

Longtime Movie Lobbyist Valenti Dead at 85

Apr 27, 2007 7:39 AM CDT

Longtime Movie Lobbyist Valenti Dead at 85

Hollywood's man in Washington pioneered ratings system

(Newser) - Despite being neither movie star nor studio exec, Jack Valenti was one of Hollywood's most influential figures. An era ended Thursday when the longtime president of the film industry's trade association died at his home in Washington. The veteran lobbyist, who also served in the Johnson administration, was 85 and...

Halberstam Dies in Car Crash

Apr 23, 2007 10:36 PM CDT

Halberstam Dies in Car Crash

Prize-winning writer who blended journalism with history was 73

(Newser) - David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who wrote definitive annals of everything from the Vietnam War to pro football, was killed in a car crash in Menlo Park, Calif., today. Halberstam, who wrote 21 books, was on his way to interview former New York Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle when...

Boris Yeltsin Dies at 76

Apr 23, 2007 10:17 AM CDT

Boris Yeltsin Dies at 76

(Newser) - Boris Yeltsin, who orchestrated Russia's uneasy transition to democracy, died this morning, according to the Kremlin. He was 76. The cause hasn't been released, but Russia's first democratically elected leader had a history of heart problems. Yeltsin ascended to power after a struggle with reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, who finally ceded...

Tiny Bubbles Stop

Apr 15, 2007 7:00 PM CDT

Tiny Bubbles Stop

Legendary Hawaiian entertainer Don Ho dead at 76

(Newser) - Don Ho, perhaps the best known Hawaiian entertainer ever, died yesterday at age 76 of heart failure. Ho worked Waikiki as its leading entertainer for 43 years, performing his last show just a few days before his death. He is best known for his song "Tiny...

Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84

Apr 12, 2007 9:09 AM CDT

Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84

Genre-defying novelist was voice of more than one generation

(Newser) - Kurt Vonnegut, one of the most popular novelists of the 20th century, died yesterday at 84 in Manhattan. Defying genres, he wrote on everything from the firebombing of Dresden to alien abduction—and that was just Slaughterhouse-Five.

IT WAS AN OVERDOSE

Mar 26, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

IT WAS AN OVERDOSE

ME rules Anna Nicole's death accidental, citing nine drugs in her system

(Newser) - Anna Nicole overdosed on prescription painkillers and sleeping meds, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Smith reported today, calling the death accidental. There were nine different drugs in her system at the time of her death, including three antidepressants or anti-anxiety drugs—methadone, Lexapro and Zoloft.