obituary

Stories 2521 - 2540 | << Prev   Next >>

Above All, Pinter Was Remarkable, Loyal Friend
Above All, Pinter Was Remarkable, Loyal Friend
Appreciation

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

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'
 Deep Throat Made 
 Newspapers 'Cool' 
APPRECIATION

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

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

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

(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

'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

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
Broadway Giant Gerald Schoenfeld Dies at 84
OBITUARY

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'
Hoops Coach Newell 'Simply the Best There Ever Was'

APPRECIATION

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
 Crichton Was Master Craftsman 
appreciation

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

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...

Estelle Reiner Dead at 94
 Estelle Reiner Dead at 94 
OBITUARY

Estelle Reiner Dead at 94

'I’ll have what she’s having,' clan matriarch said after famous When Harry Met Sally scene

(Newser) - Estelle Reiner, wife of actor Carl Reiner and mother to actor/director Rob Reiner, died Saturday at her home in Beverly Hills at 94, the New York Times reports. Estelle is perhaps best known for her cameo in Rob’s 1989 film When Harry Met Sally, where, following Meg Ryan’s...

Mystery Writer Tony Hillerman Dead at 83

Penned police novels infused with Navajo culture

(Newser) - Bestselling author Tony Hillerman died yesterday at 83 of pulmonary failure, the AP reports. He was known for his mystery novels, which featured two Navajo policemen with distinct views on their people, constantly balancing the Navajo world with the Anglo one. A onetime journalist, he found success with Skinwalkers in...

Fashion's Mr. Blackwell Dead at 86
 Fashion's 
 Mr. Blackwell 
 Dead at 86 
obituary

Fashion's Mr. Blackwell Dead at 86

Was founder of 'Worst-Dressed Lists'

(Newser) - Richard Blackwell, the man who created the cheeky annual “Worst-Dressed List,” died yesterday at 86 of complications from an intestinal infection, People reports. Calling himself “Mr. Blackwell,” the designer issued wittily scathing reviews of celebs’ outfits, recently hammering Britney Spears and Paris Hilton and frequently targeting...

Four Tops Singer Dead At 72
 Four Tops Singer Dead At 72 

Four Tops Singer Dead At 72

Stubbs' baritone was featured on many Motown hits

(Newser) - Baritone Levi Stubbs, the heart of the Four Tops, died today in Detroit at age 72, the Detroit News reports. With Abdul Fakir, Lawrence Payton and Renaldo Benson, Stubbs recorded many iconic hits of the Motown era, including Bernadette, Reach Out (I’ll Be There), and Standing in the Shadows ...

Newman: Proud Liberal, Embarrassed Sex Symbol
Newman: Proud Liberal, Embarrassed Sex Symbol

OPINION

Newman: Proud Liberal, Embarrassed Sex Symbol

Maureen Dowd pays affectionate tribute to frequent interviewee

(Newser) - Paul Newman was an unapologetic liberal, Maureen Dowd reminds us in a column on the actor who was also her teenage crush. He made Nixon's enemies list for supporting Eugene McCarthy and opposing the Vietnam War, and had "traits that have been in short supply in the Bush administration,...

Redford Remembers Newman
 Redford Remembers Newman 

Redford Remembers Newman

From Butch Cassidy to birthday gifts, Robert Redford recalls friendship

(Newser) - "Paul really likes to have fun and…he really especially loves to laugh at his own jokes, and some of them are just really awful," Robert Redford recalled of his friend Paul Newman to ABC News. "He enjoyed them so much…you'd start to laugh with him...

All Hail Paul, 'Ultimate Cool Guy'

From Clooney to the Clintons, nation pays tribute to actor icon

(Newser) - E! Online published a list of high-profile tributes in remembrance of Paul Newman's death Friday. Here are some highlights:
  • "He set the bar too high for the rest of us. Not just actors, but all of us." —George Clooney
  • "Paul Newman was the ultimate cool guy
...

Newman a Man for All Seasons
 Newman a Man for All Seasons 
APPRECIATION

Newman a Man for All Seasons

Whether racing cars, making pasta sauce, or helping sick children, acting was just one of Paul Newman's talents

(Newser) - Paul Newman was one of our most legendary actors, but his life and legacy went far beyond the movies, the New York Times writes. From his rare long-lived Hollywood marriage to Joanne Woodward (they lived in Connecticut) to his tireless philanthropy on behalf of sickly kids, Newman did more than...

Stories 2521 - 2540 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser