Obituaries & memorials

Chuck Barris, creator of ‘The Gong Show’ and ‘The Dating Game,’ dies at 87

Chuck Barris, “The Gong Show” creator and host who claimed — though never too seriously — that he doubled as a CIA assassin during the height of his game show popularity, has died at his home in Palisades, N.Y. He was 87. The popular game show creator, producer and host died Monday of natural causes, […]

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Amy Krouse Rosenthal, author of ‘You May Want to Marry My Husband,’ dies at 51

CHICAGO — Amy Krouse Rosenthal, a Chicago author who wrote a heart-wrenching column called “You May Want to Marry My Husband” while battling ovarian cancer, died Monday at 51. Rosenthal was a prolific creator described on her website as “a person who likes to make things.” That description includes children’s books and “grown-up books,” salads,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Obituaries & memorials, USA

George Olah, USC scientist who won Nobel Prize in chemistry, dies at 89

George Olah, a USC chemist and Nobel laureate who found new ways to study previously imperceptible stages in hydrocarbon-related chemical reactions, has died at his Beverly Hills home at age 89. The Hungarian-born scientist’s research, which earned USC its first Nobel in 1994, fueled the advancement of cleaner-burning gasoline, improved oil refining and even led

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Obituaries & memorials, Science, Medicine, & Education

Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s late UN ambassador, died from heart attack: Report

Russia’s longtime envoy to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, died from a heart attack suffered inside his Manhattan office last month, a city official said Friday. The ambassador’s cause of death was confirmed by a senior city official on condition of anonymity Friday after the medical examiner’s office declined to release details about his passing

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International, Obituaries & memorials, USA

Joni Sledge, of ‘We Are Family’ group Sister Sledge, dies at 60

Joni Sledge, who belonged to the four-sister disco-era group Sister Sledge, best known for its No. 1 hit “We Are Family,” died Friday at her home in Phoenix, a spokeswoman for the group announced. She was 60. No cause of death has been announced. “Yesterday, numbness fell upon our family,” said the Sledges in a

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials

Haiti pays last respects to former President Rene Preval

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—Haiti said goodbye Saturday to one of its most decorated and respected presidents, Rene Preval, in a Catholic ceremony spanning almost three hours. Just as in life, Preval, in death, brought together Haitians of all colors, socioeconomic standings and political leanings as peasant organizations paid tribute by wearing of traditional straw hats — a

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International, Obituaries & memorials

Fred Weintraub, who financed ‘Woodstock’ and helped discover Bruce Lee, dies at 88

Were it not for the renegade work of club owner, Hollywood producer and self-described showman Fred Weintraub, the lives of Bruce Lee, Frankie Valli, Neil Diamond, Richard Pryor and Woody Allen, to say nothing of the mud-encrusted hippies Weintraub captured in the film “Woodstock,” might have taken other turns. Weintraub died Sunday, leaving a legacy

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Robert Osborne, movie connoisseur and host of Turner Classic Movies, dies at 84

Robert Osborne, who displayed an encyclopedic knowledge — and love — of films and film history as the primary host of Turner Classic Movies, has died in New York, the network said Monday. He was 84. Osborne was a former longtime columnist for the Hollywood Reporter and the author of the official history of the

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Miriam Colón Dead At 80: Legendary Puerto Rican Actress Dies After Pulmonary Infection

Miriam Colón has passed away at the age of 80, her husband Fred Valle has confirmed. The cause of death was revealed to be complications from a pulmonary infection. Colón is a legendary Puerto Rican actress that was widely recognized as playing the mother of Tony Montana in the 1983 remake of “Scarface.” The directors

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Long-time Israeli photojournalist David Rubinger dies aged 92

Tel Aviv (dpa) – Israeli photographer David Rubinger, best known for his image of Israeli soldiers standing awestruck in front of the Western Wall during the Six-Day War, has died aged 92, a family statement said on Thursday. Rubinger, who died Wednesday in Jerusalem, “eternalized history as it will be forever etched in our memories,”

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Middle East, Obituaries & memorials

Gerald Kaufman, UK’s longest-serving lawmaker, dies at 86

LONDON — Gerald Kaufman, the longest-serving lawmaker in Britain’s House of Commons, has died aged 86.Kaufman’s family says the Labour Party legislator died Sunday after a long illness.Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Monday called Kaufman “an iconic and irascible figure” who was proud of his Jewish roots and strove to bring peace to the Middle

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International, Obituaries & memorials

Judge Joseph Wapner, who presided over ‘The People’s Court,’ dies at 97

LOS ANGELES — He was a retired Los Angeles County Superior Court judge who became an unlikely American TV icon, a white-haired jurist who was dubbed the “Solomon of Small Claims.” Judge Joseph A. Wapner, who presided over “The People’s Court” for 12 years in the 1980s and ’90s, has died, a family member told

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Obituaries & memorials, USA