'You really liked it, huh? You really thought it was good?'
He regaled one friend with memories of being in the womb, took another shopping for jerseys in Paris, and said he regretted calling his play Godot. As the centenary of his birth approaches, 'Beckett Remembering Remembering Beckett'. More inside.
posted by matteo on Feb 26, 2006 - 16 comments

Lou Rawls dies You'll never find... A "velvety baritone" like Lou Rawls, who died Friday of lung cancer at Cedars-Sinai in LA. He moved with his mother from Chicago in the 1950s, was a friend of Sam Cooke, and sang the National Anthem at Game 2 of the 2005 World Series in Chicago. Rawls sang with Sam Cooke, was awarded three Grammys, sold one platinum and five gold albums. He said: There are no limits to music, so why should I limit myself?"
posted by SeeAych4 on Jan 6, 2006 - 31 comments

Former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange died over the weekend. His loss will impact our country considerably – he championed our anti-nuclear policy which led to the end of Anzus and a falling out with the US that continues to this day, he spoke at the Oxford Union defending our stance on nuclear weapons and power and he was Prime Minister presiding over the far reaching economic reform that has arguably led to the economic prosperity Kiwi’s are enjoying right now. He was a man larger than life, funny, friendly and caring and his passing is being felt all over Godzone.
posted by Samuel Farrow on Aug 14, 2005 - 25 comments

Luther Vandross is gone. The great R&B balladeer died today, apparently due to complications from a stroke he suffered two years ago. Believers in an afterlife can hope he's enjoying a dance with his father. After all, he did believe in the "Power of Love". RIP.
posted by trip and a half on Jul 1, 2005 - 45 comments

Johnnie Cochran, R.I.P. "Cochran died at his home in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles of an inoperable brain tumor, according to his brother-in-law Bill Baker. His wife and his two sisters were with him at the time of his death. "Cochran, his family and colleagues were secretive about his illness to protect the attorney's privacy as well as the network of Cochran law offices that largely draw their cachet from his presence. But Cochran confirmed in a Sept. 2004 interview with The Times that he was being treated by the eminent neurosurgeon Keith Black at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles."
posted by allaboutgeorge on Mar 29, 2005 - 91 comments

RIP, Dean Wormer
posted by docpops on Feb 4, 2005 - 22 comments

Jim Capaldi, legendary rock & roll drummer and Hall of Fame inductee, died Friday at the age of 60 after a brief fight with stomach cancer.
posted by geeknik on Jan 29, 2005 - 8 comments

Congressman dies of rare disease Congressman Bob Matsui, who was recently elected to a 14th term in Congress, has died due to a rare stem cell disease. Matsui, who was one of the leading opponents of President Bush's plan to eliminate Social Security, was the ranking Democrat on the Congressional subcommittee on Social Security.
posted by expriest on Jan 2, 2005 - 26 comments

25 years in a non-existant war In 1979, a Khmer Rouge guerrilla fled to the hills of Cambodia when his village was attacked by Vietnamese troops. He and a small group of friends and family lived in the dense forests for 25 years, emerging in 2004 to discover that the war was over and that Pol Pot was dead. They had been fearful of any human contact, believing everyone to be the enemy.
posted by BradNelson on Dec 8, 2004 - 17 comments

Arthur Robinson died last week. He is famous for the Robinson Projection which compromised on the Greenland problem of while being (IMO) more pleasing than the Peters Map. The map was widely used by the National Geographic Society in the 70s and 80s making it one of the most familiar to a generation of adults. The wikipedia has a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the Robinson map as a compromise between equal area and spatial distortion. The map library at the University of Wisconsin is named for him.
posted by KirkJobSluder on Nov 16, 2004 - 9 comments

Another master taken: Richard Avedon, dead at 81. Arguably the greatest portrait photographer in history, Avedon was famous not only for his fashion or celebrity shots, but also his interest in the common man, best emphasized by the book "In the American West". He was recently working on a piece, "On Democracy" when he suffered a brain hemorrhage. Many may be familiar with his simple black & white on white style from his shots for the New Yorker (he was their first staff photographer). His site is currently shrouded in respect.
posted by Civil_Disobedient on Oct 1, 2004 - 13 comments

Russ Meyer dead at 82. The maker of some of the most fun flicks of his day and the man who introduced us the sexpots of an era. We bid you a fond farewell.
posted by jonmc on Sep 22, 2004 - 24 comments

Spalding Gray's Body Found in East River.
posted by zedzebedia on Mar 8, 2004 - 64 comments

The man in black is no more. Johnny Cash passes away from diabetes complications early this morning.
posted by SuzySmith on Sep 12, 2003 - 80 comments

Warren Zevon, RIP Born January 23, 1947. Died September 7, 2003. Now I guess he can get some sleep.
posted by alms on Sep 8, 2003 - 33 comments

Bob Hope passes way. Will there ever be another like him? Thanks for the memories Bob!
posted by da5id on Jul 28, 2003 - 68 comments

Leslie Cheung has died. I have no idea how to express my grief, but I feel that this should be discussed here. Yet his death seems to go unmentioned. What could drive someone to do this, and how could the media ignore such a tragic event?
posted by son_of_minya on Apr 1, 2003 - 30 comments

Influential experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage died in hospital today after an operation for a long illness. If he is known at all, he is known as the director of short films like "Dog Star Man" and the controversial "Window Water Baby Moving", whose graphic portrayal of his first son's birth incited feminist ire and inspired the spoof "Misconception". Those who have no exposure to his work should mourn the loss of a filmmaker whose collagist, primarily non-camera work was colorful and revelatory. (more inside)
posted by pxe2000 on Mar 9, 2003 - 12 comments

a bleak moment for beauty: herb ritts has died. nytimes link.
posted by patricking on Dec 26, 2002 - 30 comments

Peace Activist Philip Berrigan Dead at 79 Yes, I know, obituaries are depressing. But this man was one of my very few heros. He fought a good fight, but in this age of corporate sponsored and government promoted dimunation of conscience can a single person "bearing witness" to the immoral actions that go on in this world really make a difference? Or is the idea of citizen protest just a quaint vestige of another era? [NYT link]
posted by ahimsakid on Dec 7, 2002 - 8 comments

R.I.P. Squirrel 2002-2002 He lived a short, productive life. Some guy finally shot and killed him to end his reign of terror over Chesire. I'm sure that with a good taxidermist, he will be stuffed and live on in the hearts of all of England. He also spawned an unintentionally funny caption to a picture: "A squirrel, similar to the one shown in this file photo, is spreading terror in a Cheshire town where it keeps attacking people"

I dub thee "Chester the Crazy Squirrel". May he live his afterlife like he lived his life, by attacking people at random.
posted by RobbieFal on Nov 8, 2002 - 10 comments

Jonathan Harris (1914-2002) No one wreaked interplanetary havoc -- and devoured Irwin Allen's scenery -- quite like Harris as Dr. Zachary Smith, the distinctively diabolical space stow-away in the 60's TV series Lost In Space. A fifty-year veteran of movies and TV, Harris was 87 when he passed away Sunday.
posted by LinusMines on Nov 4, 2002 - 10 comments

Dunkin' Donuts founder passes on - From a single shop in Quincy, Mass. to over 5000 stores around the globe, William Rosenberg created what is probably world's most recognizable donut and coffee chain. (Well, maybe that's because I live in New England, where there's always a DD location within a block radius.) Rosenberg was 86.
posted by MediaMan on Sep 22, 2002 - 31 comments

Timmy leaves his Princess. Josh Ryan Evans, the actor who played Timmy on my favorite soap opera (Passions) died Monday evening from a heart condition.

What's creepy is that the exact same day on the show, his character died.

The producers are editing out anything to do with Timmy, although I really hope that there's a legitimate memorial on the show for the character. He's been the soul of the series, and he simply can't be replaced.

Of course, I expect Tabitha to go full on evil now...
posted by Pinwiz on Aug 6, 2002 - 55 comments

A great music editor passes on. Timothy White, editor-in-chief of Billboard Magazine, died suddenly of a heart attack today. He was a fixture of music journalism. He and his bow-tie will be missed.
posted by aeiou on Jun 27, 2002 - 4 comments

Barbie creator, Mattel founder Handler dies More than one billion Barbies have been sold in 150 countries and has inspired love from girls everywhere and pure hatred from feminists everywhere. "The impossibly well-endowed doll -- her original figure would be about 39-18-33 if she were human -- has infuriated feminists, inspired artists and intrigued academics around the world. Barbie even was placed in the official "America's Time Capsule" buried in 1976." Can you think of any other toy who has brought about as much ferver as Barbie???
posted by gloege on Apr 29, 2002 - 30 comments

Sheriff's Deputy turned TV Bailiff Rusty Burrell has died. I had no idea he was involved in the Charles Manson & Patty Hearst trials.
posted by Argyle on Apr 20, 2002 - 7 comments

As a Denver news staple dies, he keeps a blog. Oh man, get the kleenex.
posted by crasspastor on Apr 4, 2002 - 7 comments

Mr. Television, does at 93
posted by Dean_Paxton on Mar 27, 2002 - 21 comments

Actor Dudley Moore Dies at 66
posted by lostbyanecho on Mar 27, 2002 - 28 comments

Raffaele Ciriello killed in Ramallah early Wednesday. Ciriello ran the marvelous and heart-wrenching site Postcards from Hell (previously discussed, and currently down).
posted by apostasy on Mar 13, 2002 - 19 comments

Actor Kevin Smith (no, not Silent Bob... Ares from Xena) has died after a large fall in China.
posted by sycophant on Feb 15, 2002 - 31 comments

Country Great Waylon Jennings Dead Well, there aren't too many outlaws left.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet on Feb 13, 2002 - 22 comments

Headlines You'd Never have seen b4 9-11
Owner of world's largest U.S. flag dies at 72
Thomas Demski, who owned the world's largest American flag, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, has died. He was 72.
This is what passes for news.
posted by Blake on Jan 22, 2002 - 13 comments

Léopold Sedar Senghor, poet and first president of Senegal, dies at 95
He was the founder the négritude movement in French poetry, and a leader of African socialism. This "This Day" article discusses the political side, crediting him with Senegal's relative peace and success. This Libération article gives some biographical details. Like his friend and colleague, Senghor's negritude poems used images and symbolism of African folk cultures in French modernist verse to create a liberated identity for Africans.
posted by rschram on Dec 21, 2001 - 6 comments

As a youngen, I was very much enamored with Ken Kesey's questioning soul and his flare for the wild. His novels provided much comfort as I tried to navigate my way through those conforming years we all know as high school. May he RIP.
posted by Ms Snit on Nov 11, 2001 - 7 comments

Notorious American correspondence player and chess writer Claude Bloodgood has died. 'A convicted murderer who was sentenced to death but reprieved, Bloodgood was the best known of US prisoner players.' I love obituaries. And what could be sweeter than the cold hand of death dragging Chess Rogues down to Gehanna?
posted by crunchburger on Oct 29, 2001 - 3 comments

John C. Lilly dies. Inventor of the isolation tank and pioneer of dolphin/human communications and all around cool counterculture guy. He will be missed. [Lilly homepage]
posted by skallas on Oct 3, 2001 - 6 comments

Beethavean Scottland died last night of head injuries sustained in a boxing last week. Will boxing ever be safe?
posted by dfowler on Jul 3, 2001 - 14 comments

Jim Ellis, co-creator of usenet died today. He was 45.
posted by rebeccablood on Jun 28, 2001 - 7 comments

Victor Kiam dies. This is quite a shame... just thought I'd post and let all know
posted by monkeyJuice on May 29, 2001 - 9 comments

Douglas Wayne Myres, Jr. died due to an asthma attack. He is a co-founder of G.o.d. games. It's the worst thing when good people die young. He was 36.
posted by john on May 6, 2001 - 11 comments

The passing of a giant. Claude Shannon has died. He was a man of towering intellect, whose achievements are dwarfed only by the ignorance of the public to the value of those achievements. All our lives have been radically changed by him, but I bet not one person in a hundred has even heard of him.
posted by Steven Den Beste on Mar 2, 2001 - 4 comments

2gether's Michael 'Q.T.' Cuccione Dies. And the world mourns yet another musical superstar.
posted by littleyellowdifferent on Jan 16, 2001 - 12 comments

Mike Muuss, author of ping(1), dead at 42. Traffic accident, Maryland, tractor-trailer. Half a dozen bad pastiche jokes go here, but I'm not going to do them.
posted by baylink on Nov 22, 2000 - 9 comments

"Fellow citizens, Arabs everywhere, the National and Regional Commands of the Arab Socialist Baath Party, the Central Command of the Progressive Democratic Front, People's Assembly, Council of Ministers, the Armed Forces Command, Vocational Syndicates and Popular Organizations in Syria, the children of the great who departed, Bashar, Maher, Majd and Bushra, the Assad and Makhlouf families, announce to the Arab Nation..." Man, I wish we American peons could get obituaries like this!
posted by aaron on Jun 10, 2000 - 0 comments

Phil Katz RIP
posted by mike on Apr 26, 2000 - 5 comments

So Charles Schulz ran out of ink about two hours ago, preceded in death by about five hours by Tom Landry. The worst part is, both were in my dead pool, which starts in about 24 hours. (The second-worst thing is all the "It's a sad day for Snoopy" and "Good grief" ledes we're going to have to endure. Blech.)

The Dallas Morning News obit went over the wires at 85 inches before Landy was even cold. Gee, you think they saw this one coming?
posted by luke on Feb 12, 2000 - 9 comments