Free Solo climbing - climbing without a rope, partner or protection - is clearly the most dangerous form of rock climbing. When practiced at the highest level it demands peerless physical skill and stamina and unshakable nerves. Few climbers have ever taken soloing to the extremes that John Bachar did. [more inside]
posted by tim_in_oz on Jul 7, 2009 - 79 comments

Former US Secretary of Defense and 'architect of the Vietnam War' Robert S. McNamara has died at age 93. [more inside]
posted by lullaby on Jul 6, 2009 - 76 comments

One recent celebrity death that most likely fell under the U.S. radar was that of Terry Black, who in the early 1960s was Canada's answer to Fabian. Growing up listening to CKLW, I remember Terry Black for "Goin' Down (The Road to L.A.)", recorded with his wife, Laurel Ward. Black had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis just a year ago, and apparently died from complications of the disease. [more inside]
posted by Oriole Adams on Jul 1, 2009 - 15 comments

Pina Bausch, one of the foremost choreographers of the last thirty years, died June 30th. Over the three decades she lead the Tanz-theater Wuppertal her choreography attracted an international following with its complex mix of theatricality, humor, and often pointed depictions of the relationships between men and women. [more inside]
posted by From Bklyn on Jul 1, 2009 - 14 comments

As if there haven't been enough celebrity deaths, now the sad news that the great impressionist - comedian Fred Travalena has passed away at his Encino, CA home at age 66. Examples of some of his work are here from a Merv Griffin Show, and a later one from a live performance.
posted by Seekerofsplendor on Jun 29, 2009 - 35 comments

Billy Mays dead at 50 But wait, there's no more! [more inside]
posted by majikstreet on Jun 28, 2009 - 176 comments

Giovanni Arrighi, the renowned authority in the fields of world systems analysis and historical sociology, died earlier this month. A retrospective interview on his intellectual trajectory was published in the March/April 2009 issue of New Left Review. A major international conference was held in his honour in late May in Madrid, featuring several top scholars in an exploration of the insights of Arrighi’s work.
posted by Abiezer on Jun 27, 2009 - 6 comments

Sky Saxon, lead singer and bassist for garage rock legends The Seeds, passed away yesterday at the (estimated) age of 63. [more inside]
posted by The Card Cheat on Jun 26, 2009 - 27 comments

Farrah Fawcett died today of cancer at the age of 62. She was perhaps best known for her role in Charlie's Angels, and also for inspiring the lust of a whole generation of men with one photo.
posted by elder18 on Jun 25, 2009 - 127 comments

Renowned blacksmith, Phillip Simmons, of Charleston, SC has died at age 98. [more inside]
posted by 1f2frfbf on Jun 24, 2009 - 16 comments

Everyman's announcer: Ed McMahon enjoyed a remarkable entertainment career. From pitching vegetable slicers to passerbyers on the Atlantic City boardwalk to delivering the original king of late night to a national audience every night for thirty years; Ed McMahon's voice is part of the American fabric. Sadly, Ed McMahon has passed away. [more inside]
posted by cavalier on Jun 23, 2009 - 76 comments

Thomas Berry passed away early on the morning of June 1st. He described himself as a cosmologist and "geologian," an Earth scholar. He was an advocate of deep ecology, and believed passionately in the power of the New Cosmology and the Great Story. Berry believed that "Our future destiny rests even more decisively on our capacity for intimacy in our human-Earth relations."
posted by diogenes on Jun 22, 2009 - 7 comments

If anyone could flame from beyond the grave, it is he. Erik Naggum was a young programmer and Usenet philosopher who exemplified the new breed of smug Lisp weenie. His hatred for Perl, C++ and XML fueled his Olympian rants. He was cruel, but smart; he was articulate, but he used arguments ad hominem; he left a trail of scorched earth, but he had devoted friends. I didn't know him, but I enjoyed his expression of free thought. He died young after years of torment; R.I.P. [more inside]
posted by e.e. coli on Jun 21, 2009 - 72 comments

Cat dies. The NY Times is there.
posted by BitterOldPunk on Jun 20, 2009 - 63 comments

According to the BBC, US fantasy author David Eddings has died at 77 due to natural causes. More coverage at the Guardian. (via bureau42)
posted by reptile on Jun 7, 2009 - 84 comments

You probably knew him as the evil drug kingpin, Mr. Han in Enter the Dragon. In Hong Kong he was an action movie legend. Sadly, the amazing Shek Kin, a true martial artist, is dead at 96.
posted by bwg on Jun 4, 2009 - 15 comments

Kwai Chang Caine, aka Grasshopper, aka David Carradine has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel room. Bummer.
posted by Shike on Jun 4, 2009 - 189 comments

Millvina Dean, last survivor of the RMS Titanic, died today. And so, arguably, the greatest disaster of the early 20th century passes from living memory.
posted by pjern on May 31, 2009 - 37 comments

Ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett has died. [more inside]
posted by Rangeboy on May 25, 2009 - 67 comments

Sid Laverents dead at 100. Indie filmmaking original, prolific mad genius. previously
posted by fungible on May 17, 2009 - 13 comments

Edwin "Bud" Shrake - journalist, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter - died early Friday in Austin. [more inside]
posted by Ranucci on May 10, 2009 - 12 comments

The one, the only, the brilliantly funny Dom DeLuise has passed away.
posted by cerebus19 on May 5, 2009 - 121 comments

Bea Arthur has died. She is best known for her portrayal of Maude Findlay, Edith Bunker's cousin on All in the Family. Her character spawned a CBS spin-off -- Maude. In 1985 Arthur was cast as Dorothy Zbornak in the hit sitcom the Golden Girls. Bea -- thank you for being a friend.
posted by ericb on Apr 25, 2009 - 157 comments

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, one of the founders of queer theory, died on April 12th, 2009. Sedgwick was known not only for her groundbreaking academic publications, but also for her candid humanism. And surprisingly to some, she was married for 40 years to Hal Sedgwick, but they only saw each other on weekends.
posted by hpliferaft on Apr 15, 2009 - 37 comments

Four hours after his start against Oakland, his first time beginning the year with a major league team, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a hit and run by a van speeding through a red light.
posted by setanor on Apr 9, 2009 - 62 comments

Maurice Jarre (September 13, 1924 – March 29, 2009) was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores for motion pictures, particularly those of David Lean: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984). All three of these scores won Academy Awards. - Wikipedia
posted by Joe Beese on Mar 30, 2009 - 21 comments

Larry Glick, aka Commander Glick, aka The Godfathah Lorenzo Glickiano, AM Night-Owl Talk-Radio Hero, 1922-2009. Hear a recent interview with Larry, and remembrances by Tom Bergeron (Glick's mentee), at WBZ's site. [previously - my first MetaFilter FPP]
posted by not_on_display on Mar 27, 2009 - 10 comments

The best driver never to win the Indy 500. Despite winning in midgets, stock cars, and both the Sebring and Daytona road races, he will always be best known for the one race he didn't win - despite running in it for eighteen consecutive years. Though he would like to be remembered "just as old me. I enjoyed racing," if you ask a Gurney, Andretti or Foyt and they'll tell you he's "a soft-spoken Texas lead foot with enormous natural talent." Race driving legend Lloyd Ruby passes away at age 81 in his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas.
posted by quartzcity on Mar 26, 2009 - 9 comments

Dan Seals -- half of the 1970s pop duo England Dan and John Ford Coley, and a hit country musician in later decades -- passed away Wednesday night in Nashville at age 61. The duo's hits included the FM staple "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight" and "Nights are Forever." In Dan's later years, he was working with his older brother Jimmy (the Seals in Seals & Crofts) as Seals & Seals.
posted by porn in the woods on Mar 26, 2009 - 21 comments

People die and different folk celebrate and mourn in various ways. However, while it does seem as if everyone is blogging about baseball and boxing or UFC during these times that try men's souls'... not everyone can write about it for the CTV network. John will be missed by both Blue Jay and Expo fans and perhaps fight fans as well. Please take a moment of your time to click on some links, thank you.
posted by christopher.taylor on Mar 26, 2009 - 3 comments

American historian John Hope Franklin died today at the age of 94. Among his many achievements: authoring From Slavery to Freedom: a History of African Americans. Originally published in 1947, it remains the standard work on African American history. Franklin also did research for the appellants in the historic Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court Case. [more inside]
posted by marxchivist on Mar 25, 2009 - 29 comments

Photographer Pirkle Jones, best known for his images of California's migrant workers and changing landscape (including a collaboration with Dorothea Lange) and his iconic Black Panther pictures, has died at 95.
posted by scody on Mar 24, 2009 - 8 comments

Former Black Panther and civil rights activist Richard Aoki passed away Sunday from medical complications. [more inside]
posted by lunit on Mar 20, 2009 - 9 comments

John C. Odom, the minor league baseball player made famous last year for being traded for ten bats, has met a tragic end.
posted by MegoSteve on Mar 4, 2009 - 68 comments

Irish poet and writer Christopher Nolan died on the 20 Feb. Nolan was born with cerebral palsy, and typed using a 'unicorn stick' attached to his head. Nolan has never spoken, yet his poetry has been compared to that of Joyce, Keats, and Yeats. [more inside]
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth on Mar 2, 2009 - 27 comments

Minnesota poet and essayist Bill Holm died on Wednesday. Bill Holm passed away less than a year after receiving some of the recognition he deserved when he was named the 2008 McKnight Distinguished Artist of the Year. He was 65. [more inside]
posted by nanojath on Feb 26, 2009 - 14 comments

Alison Des Forges, American historian of Africa, MacArthur genius and top human-rights advocate, was an impassioned observer of the Rwandan genocide, lobbying the United States and United Nations to intervene in the killings, saving some Rwandans from certain death, and later writing one of the definitive histories of the events, "Leave none to tell the story". She testified at hundreds of trials and inquiries resulting from the genocide. Last night, she perished aboard Flight 3407. "Her death is a devastating blow," said the president of Human Rights Watch, where she worked as an advisor. "She epitomized the human rights activist — principled, dispassionate, committed to the truth and to using that truth to protect ordinary people."
posted by docgonzo on Feb 13, 2009 - 24 comments

The Vimy Ridge Memorial is a common destination for Canadian travellers in France. As previous visitors have discovered, however, it is not the easiest place to reach once you get off the train. Thankfully, there's been help in the form of the Welcome Man (Windows Media embedded video --clip starts at 11:30). Over the last 13 years Georges Devloo has met the train at Vimy every day, where he offers free transportation to the memorial to confused and lost Canadians seeking to pay their respects. In this time, it's been estimated that M. Devloo has given rides other assistance to over 1,200 Canadians. Today, we said au-revoir to "le grand-père de Vimy".
posted by aclevername on Feb 10, 2009 - 25 comments

The founder of an international nonprofit group has passed away.
posted by JoKeR on Feb 3, 2009 - 19 comments

John Martyn: 11th September 1948 - 29th January 2009
posted by Kiwi on Jan 29, 2009 - 35 comments

Painter Andrew Wyeth has died at the age of 91. The son of beloved illustrator N.C. Wyeth, Andrew enjoyed mass popularity for paintings such as Christina's World and his Helga paintings. [more inside]
posted by marxchivist on Jan 16, 2009 - 53 comments

Smiles, everyone. Ricardo Montalban dies at 88. The actor may be best remembered for his roles as Mr. Roarke in Fantasy Island and as the malevolent Khan in Star Trek (and, to a younger generation, as the grandfather in Spy Kids, and, to teevee fans, as the hawker of the fine Corinthian leather of the Cordoba), but, after early years of playing Asians (!), the actor might be most important for gaving been one of the few Hispanic actors to get lead roles during the 1950s and 60s. Also, the actor introduced the song "Baby It's Cold Outside," which he never gets credit for.
posted by Astro Zombie on Jan 14, 2009 - 131 comments

Youngest Briton to climb Everest dies in Alps Last year, two British kids skied, sailed, and biked through North, Central, and South America, en route from the north pole to the south pole.  They made it the whole 180 degrees, but as you can read in the articles, they almost died several times.  You may enjoy reading an interview about that trip. They had already climbed to the top of Everest at 19 years of age. They were named Adventurers of the Year for 2008 by National Geographic. They died this weekend, January 10, 2009, climbing in the French Alps.
posted by peter_meta_kbd on Jan 13, 2009 - 31 comments

Rev. Richard John Neuhaus is dead. The founder and editor of the Catholic journal First Things, (I am a subscriber), and an inveterate gossip.
posted by parmanparman on Jan 8, 2009 - 12 comments

Ron Asheton, influential guitarist and bassist for The Stooges and Destroy All Monsters, has passed away at age 60.
posted by Dr-Baa on Jan 6, 2009 - 58 comments

HIV/AIDS denialist Christine Maggiore has died. [more inside]
posted by lalex on Jan 5, 2009 - 206 comments

Adi Da (one of the most extreme of the 20th century God-men) died on Thanksgiving. This may be a little late, and of little interest to most of you. (He had many names: Da Free John is probably the most recognizable to many of us.) He lived in luxury in Fiji, with many beautiful "consorts." There is a very extensive discussion about him and his work here. Info about his "cult" here.
posted by kozad on Dec 29, 2008 - 45 comments

Samuel Phillip Huntington, best known for his work "Clash of Civilizations," died on December 24. Previously on the blue (here, here, here, and here)
posted by Glibpaxman on Dec 27, 2008 - 20 comments

Eartha Kitt, The Pur-r-rfect Woman dies at 81 The Real Catwoman once described as "The Most Exciting Woman in the World". And no Christmas mix is complete without her rendition of "Santa Baby". Thank you Miss Kitt .
posted by somnambulist on Dec 25, 2008 - 104 comments

Harold Pinter has died, the BBC reports If you don't know about him it is worth getting acquainted. This is a sad day for literature, but at least he had a good innings.
posted by The Salaryman on Dec 25, 2008 - 53 comments