obituary – News Stories About obituary - Page 134

Nov 20, 2007 9:47 PM CST

Rhodesian PM Ian Smith Dies at 88

Broke from Britain and defended white minority rule for 15 years

(Newser) - Ian Smith, the Rhodesian leader who unilaterally declared independence from Britain in 1965 and defended white rule for 15 tumultuous years, died today at 88. Seen as a symbol of African colonial-era racism, Smith was unrepentant during his lifetime, arguing that what is now Zimbabwe suffered more under the tenure...

Charmin Icon Dies at 91

Nov 19, 2007 10:57 PM CST

Charmin Icon Dies at 91

TV adman played Mr. Whipple, who urged customers to refrain from squeezing

(Newser) - Dick Wilson, the actor who played Charmin's Mr. Whipple for 21 years, died today at the age of 91, the AP reports. Although he did stints at Disney and had parts in popular television shows of the 1960s, Wilson will be widely remembered as the uptight grocer who urged customers,...

From Detroit
to Dresden
to Siberia

Nov 16, 2007 5:42 PM CST

From Detroit to Dresden to Siberia

American memoirist imprisoned in Soviet gulag dead at 84

(Newser) - John Noble, an American who wrote two memoirs about the decade he spent as a Soviet prisoner, including 3 years in the gulag, died last week at 84, the Telegraph reports. Taken into Soviet custody in 1945, Noble and his father were incarcerated in Dresden, Germany, where they had run...

Kanye West's Mother Dies
After Surgery

Nov 12, 2007 10:30 AM CST

Kanye West's Mother Dies After Surgery

Complications developed following cosmetic procedure

(Newser) - Kanye West's mother died in Los Angeles Saturday after complications developed following a "cosmetic procedure," her publicist said today. Dr. Donda West, 58, a retired English professor, inspired the hip-hop superstar's 2005 hit "Hey Mama." No cause of death was released, and the family requested "...

Literary Bull Blundered
and Thrived

Nov 10, 2007 7:33 PM CST

Literary Bull Blundered and Thrived

Time and Salon critics recall brilliant, failed, iconic Mailer

(Newser) - Egotist, chauvinist, brawler, Mailer battled "a culture subsiding into room temperature," Time says. His work vented "his own inner conditions" as he lurched from fame at age 25 to so-so books to his "brilliant" Armies of the Night in 1968. He made big gaffes—blaming patients...

Norman Mailer Dead at 84

Nov 10, 2007 6:45 AM CST

Norman Mailer Dead at 84

Literary legend's 6-decade career included 2 Pulitzers

(Newser) - Norman Mailer, one of the 20th century's literary lions and a pioneer of the genre that came to be known as New Journalism, died this morning. He was 84. His career spanned 6 decades and more than 40 books, from 1948's The Naked and the Dead to this year's The ...

Osmond Family Patriarch Dies

Nov 7, 2007 2:45 AM CST

Osmond Family Patriarch Dies

George Osmond, father of Donny & Marie, launched careers of musical clan

(Newser) - It was the end of an era for the singing Osmond family with the death yesterday of patriarch George Osmond, who launched the musical careers of his children during a family trip to Disneyland 45 years ago, the Los Angeles Times reports. Osmond died at his Utah home of apparent...

Death Takes Down the Fabulous Moolah

Nov 5, 2007 4:45 AM CST

Death Takes Down the Fabulous Moolah

First Lady of pro wrestling dead at 84

(Newser) - Pro wrestling’s "Fabulous Moolah," 30-year champion of World Wrestling Entertainment, has died at 84. Mary Lillian Ellison was the first female wrestler inducted into the WWE’s Hall of Fame. When a promoter asked her why she wanted to wrestle, she answered: “For the money! I...

Communicating Chimp Signs Off

Nov 2, 2007 5:07 PM CDT

Communicating Chimp Signs Off

Washoe, simian with impressive vocabulary, is dead at 42

(Newser) - Washoe, the first non-human to learn a human language, is being remembered as a linguistic pioneer and a "polite, cheerful person," even though she was a chimp. Washoe, who died this week at 42, could use around 250 different American Sign Language signs in conversation, the Seattle Times ...

Hiroshima Bomb Pilot Dead at 92

Nov 1, 2007 3:19 PM CDT

Hiroshima Bomb Pilot Dead at 92

Pilot defended his role to the last, said he had 'no regrets'

(Newser) - The commander and pilot of the B-29 that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945—the first military use of nuclear weapons—died today, the Associated Press reports. Paul Tibbets was 92, and requested no funeral or headstone for fear that they might attract anti-nuclear protesters. Tibbets always...

Robert Goulet Dies at 73

Oct 31, 2007 3:39 AM CDT

Robert Goulet Dies at 73

Acclaimed crooner was awaiting a lung transplant

(Newser) - Robert Goulet, whose deep baritone and matinee-idol looks propelled him to fame in the 1960s, died yesterday while waiting for a lung transplant. Goulet, 73, became a star almost overnight when he debuted as Lancelot in the Broadway production of Camelot, the LA Times reports, and went on to a...

Opry Star Wagoner Dead at 80

Oct 29, 2007 9:40 AM CDT

Opry Star Wagoner Dead at 80

Pioneer revolutionized country music

(Newser) - Grand Ole Opry star Porter Wagoner died of lung cancer in Nashville last night, just as the Country Music Hall of Fame—which enshrined him in 2003—gathered to induct new members. He was 80. Wagoner will be remembered as a rhinestone-clad innovator who pioneered the country concept album and...

DNA Pioneeer Kornberg Dies

Oct 27, 2007 4:05 PM CDT

DNA Pioneeer Kornberg Dies

Biochemist won in '59 for research; son received prize in 2006

(Newser) - Nobel laureate Dr. Arthur Kornberg, 89, a pioneering biochemist in the fields of DNA and human genetics, has died of respiratory failure, the New York Times reports. Kornberg shared the award in 1959 for his research into how DNA works, and that research is the foundation for many of today's...

Packers Great Max McGee Dies

Oct 21, 2007 9:50 PM CDT

Packers Great Max McGee Dies

McGee scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history

(Newser) - Max McGee, the Green Bay Packer legend who scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history, died yesterday after falling from the roof of his Minnesota home. McGee played 12 seasons with the Cheeseheads and served two years in the Air Force, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says. The Nevada native...

Last Rat Packer Joey Bishop Dies

Oct 18, 2007 5:27 PM CDT

Last Rat Packer Joey Bishop Dies

Comic and actor was the last living member of Sinatra's group

(Newser) - A comedian, actor, talk show host, and last living member of the Rat Pack, Joey Bishop died last night of multiple causes at age 89, CNN reports. Though many critics minimized Bishop's role, Sinatra termed him "the Hub of the Big Wheel." Bishop hosted Johnny Carson's "Tonight...

Actress Deborah Kerr Dead at 86

Oct 18, 2007 11:07 AM CDT

Actress Deborah Kerr Dead at 86

British idol starred in 'From Here to Eternity' and 'The King and I'

(Newser) - British actress Deborah Kerr has died at age 86, the Telegraph reports. Kerr was a six-time Oscar nominee who is probably best remembered for her beach embrace with Burt Lancaster in 1953's "From Here to Eternity," and her starring role in "The King and I." The...

Muschamp, Critic's Critic, Dies at 59

Oct 3, 2007 6:24 PM CDT

Muschamp, Critic's Critic, Dies at 59

Wrote during 'surge of exuberance' in architecture

(Newser) - Architecture critic Herbert Muschamp died of lung cancer last night at age 59, the New York Times reports. Muschamp wrote for the Times during a “surge of exuberance” in architecture, and his personal style grabbed readers for more than a decade. Said the Times editor who hired him, “...

Bond's Moneypenny Dies at 80

Sep 30, 2007 7:04 PM CDT

Bond's Moneypenny Dies at 80

Miss Moneypenny takes final bow

(Newser) - Lois Maxwell—better known as Miss Moneypenny, to James Bond devotees—has died at age 80 of cancer in an Australian hospital. She starred alongside Sir Sean Connery and Sir Roger Moore, and clocked a longer Bond career than either of the legendary 007's, the BBC reports. In 14 Bond...

Mime Marcel Marceau Is Dead

Sep 23, 2007 6:57 AM CDT

Mime Marcel Marceau Is Dead

'Bip' entertained millions without uttering a sound

(Newser) - The world's most famous mime, Marcel Marceau, died yesterday in Paris at 84. The beloved French performer traveled the globe to entertain millions with the agile movements of his dancer's body and the joy and pathos of his white-face expressions. "Mime, like music, knows neither borders nor nationalities,"...

Jazz Giant Zawinul Dead at 75

Sep 11, 2007 7:28 PM CDT

Jazz Giant Zawinul Dead at 75

Keyboardist defended 'electric jazz' against purists

(Newser) - Joe Zawinul, the keyboardist who plugged America into "Electric Jazz" in the 1970s, has died at age 75. Best known for playing jazz-rock fusion with Miles Davis and starting up Weather Report with Wayne Shorter, Zawinul defended his electric sound against jazz purists. "There is no difference between...