Obituary Stories category, Page 16
Former District Judge Suzanne Blaschak-Rogers remembered for fairness, professionalism
District judges in Pennsylvania aren’t required to be lawyers to serve on the bench. But Suzanne Blaschak-Rogers always made sure she understood the letter of the law before making decisions that affected the lives of the people who appeared in her courtroom during the three decades she served as a...
Willis Reed, leader on Knicks’ 2 title teams, dies at 80
NEW YORK — Willis Reed, who dramatically emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports’ most enduring examples of playing through pain, died Tuesday. He was 80. Reed’s death...
Lance Reddick, ‘The Wire’ and ‘John Wick’ star, dies at 60
NEW YORK — Lance Reddick, a character actor who specialized in intense, icy and possibly sinister authority figures on TV and film, including “The Wire,” “Fringe” and the “John Wick” franchise, has died. He was 60. Reddick died “suddenly” Friday morning, his publicist Mia Hansen said in a statement, attributing...
Jim Gordon, rock drummer who killed mother, dies at 77
LOS ANGELES — Jim Gordon, the rock ‘n’ roll session drummer who played on classic records by Eric Clapton, George Harrison and The Beach Boys but suffered from growing mental health problems and spent the second half of his life in prison for killing his mother, has died at 77....
Former Rep. Pat Schroeder, pioneer for women’s rights, dies
WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder, a pioneer for women’s and family rights in Congress, has died. She was 82. Schroeder’s former press secretary, Andrea Camp, said Schroeder suffered a stroke recently and died Monday night at a hospital in Celebration, Florida, the city where she had been residing...
‘Fosbury Flop’ high jumper Dick Fosbury dies at 76
Dick Fosbury, the lanky leaper who revamped the technical discipline of high jump and won an Olympic gold medal with his “Fosbury Flop,” has died. He was 76. Fosbury died Sunday after a recurrence with lymphoma, according to his publicist, Ray Schulte. Before Fosbury, many high jumpers cleared their heights...
Super Steelers-era director of player personnel Dick Haley dies at 85
Dick Haley, a Western Pennsylvania native and Pitt graduate who helped assemble the Steelers’ dynasty of the 1970s, has died. He was 85. “We lost an amazing football mind and a better man with the passing of Dick Haley,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “He was...
Robert Blake, actor acquitted in wife’s killing, dies at 89
LOS ANGELES — Robert Blake, the Emmy award-winning performer who went from acclaim for his acting to notoriety when he was tried and acquitted in the killing of his wife, died Thursday at age 89. A statement released on behalf of his niece, Noreen Austin, said Blake died from heart...
Robert Blake, actor acquitted in wife’s killing, dies at 89
LOS ANGELES — Robert Blake, the Emmy award-winning performer who went from acclaim for his acting to notoriety when he was tried and acquitted in the killing of his wife, died Thursday at age 89. A statement released on behalf of his niece, Noreen Austin, said Blake died from heart...
Lynyrd Skynyrd founding guitarist Gary Rossington dies at 71
Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s last surviving original member who also helped to found the group, died Sunday at the age of 71. No cause of death was given. “It is with our deepest sympathy and sadness that we have to advise, that we lost our brother, friend, family member, songwriter...
Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals at 1958 World Cup, dies
PARIS — Just Fontaine, the French soccer great who scored a record 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup, has died. He was 89. Fontaine’s former club Reims and the French soccer federation confirmed his death on Wednesday. Fontaine took six games to achieve his feat at the 1958 tournament...
Terry Holland, who transformed Virginia basketball, dies at 80
Terry Holland, who elevated Virginia basketball to national prominence during 16 seasons as coach and later had a distinguished career as an athletic administrator, has died, the school announced Monday. He was 80. Holland died Sunday night, according to the school, which confirmed the death with his family. His health...
Kremlin image-maker turned critic Gleb Pavlovsky dies at 71
MOSCOW — Gleb Pavlovsky, a Soviet-era dissident who served as a Kremlin political consultant helping burnish President Vladimir Putin’s image, has died, his family said Monday. He was 71. Pavlovsky worked as a top adviser for the Kremlin for 15 years and was widely seen as one of the key...
Betty Boothroyd, first female UK Commons speaker, dies at 93
LONDON — Betty Boothroyd, the first — and so far only — female speaker of Britain’s House of Commons, has died, parliamentary authorities said Monday. She was 93. Boothroyd, who presided over the Commons’ often raucous debates with no-nonsense humor between 1992 and 2000, died Sunday at a hospital in...
Charleroi native, CMU grad actress Barbara Bosson dead at 83
Actress Barbara Bosson, a Charleroi native raised in Belle Vernon, died Saturday in Los Angeles. The 83-year-old actress was best known for her roles on ex-husband Steven Bochco’s series, including as Fay Furillo on “Hill Street Blues,” a performance that earned her multiple prime-time Emmy nominations. In 1983, Bosson, Bochco...
Hollywood sex symbol Raquel Welch dies at 82
NEW YORK — Raquel Welch, whose emergence from the sea in a skimpy, furry bikini in the film “One Million Years B.C.” would propel her to international sex symbol status throughout the 1960s and ’70s, has died. She was 82. Welch died early Wednesday after a brief illness, according to...
De La Soul co-founder Trugoy the Dove dead at 54
David Jude Jolicoeur, known widely as Trugoy the Dove and one of the founding members of the Long Island hip hop trio De La Soul, has died. He was 54. His representative Tony Ferguson confirmed the reports Sunday. No other information was immediately available. In recent years, Jolicoeur, had said...
Burt Bacharach, legendary composer of pop songs, dies at 94Video
Burt Bacharach, the singularly gifted and popular composer and Oscar winner who delighted millions with the quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies of “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and dozens of other hits, has died at 94. Bacharach died Wednesday at home in Los Angeles...
Former Steelers linebacker Marv Kellum dies at 70
Another member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ ’70s Super Bowl dynasty has died. One-time linebacker and special teams player Marv Kellum, who was with the Steelers from 1974-76, died Saturday at 70 in Pittsburgh, according to WIBW in Kansas. He reportedly died following a bout with cancer. Kellum had been diagnosed...
Harry Whittington, shot by Dick Cheney in hunting mishap, dies at 95
Harry Whittington, the attorney from Texas who survived a hunting accident in 2006 when then-US Vice President Dick Cheney shot him in the face while tracking a passing bird, has died. He was 95. He died early Saturday morning at home, the New York Times reported, citing his wife. A...
Former Steelers running back Sidney Thornton dies at 68
Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Sidney Thornton, who won two Super Bowls with the team, has died. The franchise announced the death of Thornton, 68, earlier this week. The Steelers selected Thornton in the second round (48th overall) of the 1977 NFL Draft out of Northwestern State University in Louisiana....
‘Father of Peeps’ marshmallow candies Bob Born dies at 98
Ira “Bob” Born, a candy company executive known as the “Father of Peeps” for mechanizing the process to make marshmallow chicks, has died. He was 98. Just Born Quality Confections, the 100-year-old family-owned company Born led for much of his life, said Monday that he had died peacefully on Sunday....
‘Laverne & Shirley’ actor Cindy Williams dies at 75
LOS ANGELES — Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the beloved sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” has died, her family said Monday. Williams died in Los Angeles at age 75 on...
Lisa Loring, original Wednesday Addams actress, dies at 64Video
Lisa Loring, the former child star who portrayed Wednesday on the original “The Addams Family” series, has died, a friend announced. She was 64. The actress “suffered a massive stroke brought on by smoking and high blood pressure” and was on life support for three days, the friend, Laurie Jacobson,...
’24,’ ‘Runaways’ actor Annie Wersching has died at 45
Actor Annie Wersching, best known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series “24” and providing the voice for Tess in the video game “The Last of Us,” has died. She was 45. Wersching passed away Sunday morning in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer, her publicist told...
