Obituaries & memorials

“Watership Down” author Richard Adams dies

Not many authors can claim to have reinvented an entire genre but Richard Adams, who has died aged 96, did just that with “Watership Down”, which became one of the biggest-selling childrens’ books of all time. He took the ancient theme of talking animals, but instead of cutesy, this was cruel and savage, like nature […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Obituaries & memorials

Comedian Ricky Harris, known for roles in ‘Dope’ and ‘Everybody Hates Chris,’ dies at 54

LOS ANGELES — Ricky Harris, a comedian known for both his racy stand-up act and his appearances in family-friendly fare such as the TV series “Everybody Hates Chris,” died Monday, his manager said. He was 54. The cause was not immediately known. But Harris’ manager, Cindy Ambers of Art/Work Entertainment, said Harris had suffered a

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Carrie Fisher, ‘Star Wars’ actress, screenwriter and author, dies at 60

LOS ANGELES — Actress and writer Carrie Fisher, who rose to global fame as the trail-blazing intergalactic heroine Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” franchise and later went on to establish herself as an author and screenwriter with an acerbic comic flair, has died. Fisher suffered a heart attack on Friday during a flight to

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Pioneering astronomer Vera Rubin dies at 88; she helped find evidence of dark matter

As a woman, astrophysicist Vera Rubin had to fight just to get access to a telescope. What she saw when she did further rattled conventions: galaxies that were rotating more quickly than predicted by the laws of physics. This movement, she concluded, could be explained if the universe was filled with a type of mass

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Obituaries & memorials, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Classic country fans have lost Gordie Tapp, one of the funniest guys to ever hit the business

You may not know his name, but you’ve probably laughed at his skits on “Hee Haw” over the years. Canadian comedian Gordie Tapp, best known as “Cousin Clem,” passed away Sunday, Dec. 18 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. He was 94. According to “The Hollywood Reporter,” Tapp conceived the character “Cousin Clem” in the mid-’50s before

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Prominent Jewish congressman, Israel supporter dead at 94

Benjamin Gilman, an American Jewish attorney with a prolific political career, passed away on Saturday at the age of 94. Gilman, a lifelong Republican from the Hudson Valley, served roughly 40 years in various government positions. Beginning as Assistant Attorney General of New York in 1953, Gilman opened a private law practice in the 1950s,

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Obituaries & memorials, USA

Zsa Zsa Gabor dies at 99; she had glamour and husbands in spades

LOS ANGELES — The best known of three glamorous sisters from Hungary, actress Zsa Zsa Gabor pioneered a modern version of celebrity — she was famous for being famous. With the advent of television talk shows, Gabor became a frequent guest as early as the 1950s, charming audiences with her fractured English and slightly risque

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Heimlich Maneuver inventor dead at 96 after massive heart attack

Dr. Henry Heimlich, the inventor of the namesake maneuver credited with saving thousands of choking victims during the last several decades, died Saturday at the age of 96. The legendary physician passed away early Saturday morning at a Cincinnati hospital where he had been admitted earlier this week after suffering from a massive heart attack,

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Obituaries & memorials, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Astronaut John Glenn’s wife of 73 years emotionally bids her final farewell

Annie Glenn was married to her husband and American hero John Glenn for more than seven decades of her life. On Friday, she said goodbye for the final time as he was lying in state at Ohio’s capitol building. Glenn, 95, died a week ago surrounded by family and friends at the Ohio State University

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Obituaries & memorials, USA

Bernard Fox, the bumbling Dr. Bombay on ‘Bewitched,’ dies at 89

LOS ANGELES — Bernard Fox, known to a generation of TV viewers as Dr. Bombay on “Bewitched” and the fumbling, forever naive Col. Crittendon on “Hogan’s Heroes,” has died. He was 89. Fox died Wednesday of heart failure while hospitalized in Van Nuys, family spokesman Harlan Boll said. Though his role as the womanizing, wisecracking

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Remembering Esma Redžepova, the Romany queen of song

Esma Redžepova, the prominent and versatile Roma singer dubbed the “Romany music queen,” has died at the age of 73, hospital sources and her family said Sunday. The singer from Macedonia was one of the first vocalists in the Balkans to sing in the Romany language. She performed in some of the world’s greatest music

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International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials

Founding father of British prog rock Greg Lake dies

London (dpa) – British guitarist Greg Lake, who is counted among the founding fathers of progressive rock, has died at the age of 69. Lake, who gained fame as the frontman of King Crimson and rock supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, succumbed to cancer after a long struggle

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International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials