Obituary Stories category, Page 12
Gerald McGinnis, Respironics founder who invented CPAP machine, dies at 89
Thanks to Gerald McGinnis, millions of people across the world can breathe easier. The international businessman and founder of Respironics, which created the first machine to treat sleep apnea, died Thursday. He was 89. McGinnis was born in 1934 in Ottawa, Ill. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering...
Melanie, singer-songwriter of ‘Brand New Key’ and other ’70s hits, dies at 76Video
Melanie, the singer-songwriter who rose through the New York folk scene, performed at Woodstock and had a series of 1970s hits including the enduring cultural phenomenon “Brand New Key,” has died. Her publicist Billy James told The Associated Press that Melanie died Tuesday. She was 76 and lived in central...
Charles Osgood, CBS host on TV and radio and network’s poet-in-residence, dies at age 91Video
NEW YORK — Charles Osgood, a five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist who anchored “CBS Sunday Morning” for more than two decades, hosted the long-running radio program “The Osgood File” and was referred to as CBS News’ poet-in-residence, has died. He was 91. CBS reported that Osgood died Tuesday at his home...
Dexter Scott King, son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., dies of cancer at 62
ATLANTA — Dexter Scott King, who dedicated much of his life to shepherding the civil rights legacy of his parents, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, died Monday after battling prostate cancer. He was 62. The King Center in Atlanta, which Dexter King served as chairman,...
Mary Weiss, lead singer of the Shangri-Las, dies at 75Video
Mary Weiss, the lead singer of the 1960s pop group the Shangri-Las, whose hits included “Leader of the Pack,” has died. She was 75. Miriam Linna, founder of Weiss’ label, Norton Records, said Sunday that Weiss died Friday in Palm Springs, Calif. No cause of death was given. Rolling Stone...
Adam Harrison, son of ‘Pawn Stars’ celebrity Rick Harrison, dead in Las Vegas at age 39
LAS VEGAS — Adam Harrison, one of three sons of reality TV show “Pawn Stars” celebrity Richard “Rick” Harrison, has died in Las Vegas, a family representative said Saturday. He was 39. Harrison family spokesperson Laura Herlovich confirmed Adam Harrison died Friday, said his death was from a suspected drug...
‘The Honeymooners’ actress Joyce Randolph has died at 99; played Ed Norton’s wife, Trixie
NEW YORK — Joyce Randolph, a veteran stage and television actress whose role as the savvy Trixie Norton on “The Honeymooners” provided the perfect foil to her dimwitted TV husband, has died. She was 99. Randolph died of natural causes Saturday night at her home on the Upper West Side...
Elmore Nickleberry, a Memphis sanitation worker who marched with Martin Luther King, has died at 92
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Elmore Nickleberry, a longtime Memphis sanitation worker who participated in the pivotal 1968 strike that brought the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to the city where the civil rights leader was killed, has died at age 92. Nickleberry died on Dec. 30 in Memphis, according to an...
David Soul, the actor who portrayed the blond half of TV’s ‘Starsky and Hutch,’ dies at 80
LONDON — Actor-singer David Soul, a 1970s heartthrob who co-starred as the blond half of the crime-fighting duo “Starsky & Hutch” and topped the music charts with the ballad “Don’t Give Up on Us,” has died at the age of 80. His wife, Helen Snell, said Friday that “David Soul...
Frank Ryan, the last quarterback to lead the Cleveland Browns to an NFL title, has died at 87
CLEVELAND — Frank Ryan, the quarterback who led the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL title in 1964, has died. He was 87. The team said Ryan died Monday at a nursing home in Connecticut. There was no immediate cause of death given, but Ryan’s son, Frank Ryan Jr., told...
Comedian Tom Smothers, one-half of the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86
Tom Smothers, half of the Smothers Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died at 86. The National Comedy Center, on behalf of his family, said in a statement Wednesday that Smothers died Tuesday at...
Actor Lee Sun-kyun of Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’ dies
SEOUL, South Korea — Lee Sun-kyun, a popular South Korean actor best known for his role in the Oscar-winning movie “Parasite,” was found dead in a car in Seoul on Wednesday, authorities said, after weeks of an intense police investigation into his alleged drug use. Police and emergency officers initially...
Tay Waltenbaugh, former Community Action leader, had passion for helping people
At 6 feet, 7 inches tall, Tay R. Waltenbaugh was a larger-than-life person who had a passion for helping those in need become self-sufficient. “He did so much for so many people. No one was more committed to helping others in Westmoreland County than Tay,” said county Commissioner Ted Kopas....
Original AC/DC drummer Colin Burgess has died at 77. The Australian helped form the group in 1973
Australian drummer Colin Burgess, an original member of the hard rock band AC/DC in the early 1970s, has died, the band confirmed on its social media accounts. He was 77. “Very sad to hear of the passing of Colin Burgess,” says an unsigned post on the band’s official Facebook page...
Andre Braugher, Emmy-winning actor who starred in ‘Homicide’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ dies at 61
LOS ANGELES — Andre Braugher, the Emmy-winning actor best known for his roles on the series “Homicide: Life on The Street” and “Brooklyn 99,” died Monday at age 61. Braugher’s publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed his death to the trade publication Variety. The Chicago-born actor had his breakthrough role in 1989’s...
Therese Rocco, Pittsburgh’s 1st female assistant police chief, dead at 97
Therese Rocco, a devout Catholic, Pittsburgh native and trailblazing police officer who became a role model for women and embraced the saintly task of tracking down missing children as her life’s work, died Monday after several weeks in hospice care at West Penn Hospital. She was 97. Diminutive and dogged,...
Norman Lear, revolutionary TV producer of ‘All in the Family,’ has died at 101
Norman Lear, the writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television with “All in the Family” and “Maude,” propelling political and social turmoil into the once-insulated world of sitcoms, has died. He was 101. Lear died Tuesday night in his sleep, surrounded by family at his home in Los...
Denny Laine, founding member of the Moody Blues and Paul McCartney’s Wings, dead at 79
NEW YORK — Denny Laine, a British singer, songwriter and guitarist who performed in an early, pop-oriented version of the Moody Blues and was later Paul McCartney’s longtime sideman in the ex-Beatle’s solo band Wings, has died at age 79. Laine, inducted five years ago into the Rock and Roll...
Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has died at age 93Video
WASHINGTON — Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism and the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court, died Friday. She was 93. O’Connor died in Phoenix, of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness, the Supreme Court said in...
Shane MacGowan, lead singer of The Pogues and a laureate of booze and beauty, dies at age 65
LONDON — Shane MacGowan, the boozy, rabble-rousing singer and chief songwriter of The Pogues, who infused traditional Irish music with the energy and spirit of punk, died Thursday, his family said. He was 65. MacGowan’s songwriting and persona made him an iconic figure in contemporary Irish culture, and some of...
Henry Kissinger, secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford, dies at 100Video
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the diplomat with the thick glasses and gravelly voice who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China, died Wednesday, his consulting firm said. He was 100. With his gruff yet commanding presence...
Rosalynn Carter, outspoken former first lady, dead at 96
ATLANTA — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Jimmy Carter during his one term as U.S. president and their four decades thereafter as global humanitarians, has died at the age of 96. The Carter Center said she died Sunday after living with dementia and suffering many months...
George Brown, drummer and co-founder of Kool & The Gang, dead at 74Video
NEW YORK — George “Funky” Brown, the co-founder and longtime drummer of Kool & The Gang who helped write such hits as “Too Hot,” “Ladies Night,” “Joanna” and the party favorite “Celebration,” died Thursday in Los Angeles at age 74. Brown died after a battle with cancer, according to a...
Bobby Ussery, Hall of Fame jockey whose horse was DQ’d in 1968 Kentucky Derby, dies at 88
Bobby Ussery, a Hall of Fame jockey who won the 1967 Kentucky Derby and then crossed the finish line first in the 1968 edition only to be disqualified days later, has died. He was 88. Ussery died Thursday of congestive heart failure at an assisted living facility in Hollywood, Florida,...
Terry Taylor, trailblazing Associated Press sports editor, dies at age 71
NEW YORK — Terry R. Taylor, who in two trailblazing decades as the first female sports editor of The Associated Press transformed the news agency’s emphasis into multilayered coverage of rigorous reporting, entertaining enterprise and edgy analysis, has died. She was 71. Taylor died Tuesday at her home in Paoli,...
