Obituary Stories category, Page 20
‘Murder She Wrote’ actress Angela Lansbury dies at 96
NEW YORK — Angela Lansbury, the big-eyed, scene-stealing British actress who kicked up her heels in the Broadway musicals “Mame” and “Gypsy” and solved endless murders as crime novelist Jessica Fletcher in the long-running TV series “Murder, She Wrote,” has died. She was 96. Lansbury died Tuesday at her home...
Nikki Finke, sharp-tongued Hollywood columnist, dies at 68
NEW YORK — Nikki Finke, the veteran reporter who became one of Hollywood’s top journalists as founder of the entertainment trade website Deadline.com and whose sharp-tongued tenacity made her the most-feared columnist in show business, has died. She was 68. Finke died Sunday in Boca Raton, Fla., after a prolonged...
Judy Tenuta, brash ‘Goddess of Love’ comedian, dies at 72
LOS ANGELES — Judy Tenuta, a brash standup who cheekily styled herself as the “Goddess of Love” and toured with George Carlin as she built her career in the 1980s golden age of comedy, died Thursday. She was 72. Tenuta died Thursday afternoon at home in Los Angeles, with her...
Loretta Lynn, coal miner’s daughter and country queen, dies at 90Video
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Loretta Lynn, the Kentucky coal miner’s daughter whose frank songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia pulled her out of poverty and made her a pillar of country music, has died. She was 90. In a statement provided to the Associated Press, Lynn’s family...
Sacheen Littlefeather, actor who declined Brando Oscar, diesVideo
Sacheen Littlefeather, the actor and activist who declined Marlon Brando’s 1973 Academy Award for “The Godfather” on his behalf in an indelible protest of how Native Americans had been portrayed on screen, has died. She was 75. Littlefeather’s niece, Calina Lawrence, confirmed that she died peacefully Sunday, surrounded by loved...
Giorgio Coraluppi, Pittsburgh inventor of tech for video calls, lauded as pioneer
People who rely on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, WhatsApp and other instant messaging platforms have Giorgio Coraluppi to thank. The longtime Pittsburgh resident and businessman, known as “Dr. C,” invented the technology for the digital teleconference call from which those apps were derived. Following his death Wednesday, Sept. 28, at...
Monessen-born rapper Coolio dies at age 59
LOS ANGELES — Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died Wednesday at age 59, his manager said. Coolio, whose legal name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., died at the Los Angeles home of a friend, longtime...
Former N.J. governor, U.S. rep James Florio dies at 85
TRENTON, N.J. — Former New Jersey Gov. James Florio, who championed a plan that substantially raised the state’s sales and income taxes leading to his reelection defeat in 1993, died Sunday. He was 85. His law partner Doug Steinhardt and current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed Florio died in...
Oscar-winning ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ actor Louise Fletcher dies
LOS ANGELES — Louise Fletcher, a late-blooming star whose riveting performance as the cruel and calculating Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” set a new standard for screen villains and won her an Academy Award, has died at age 88. Fletcher died in her sleep surrounded by...
Hilary Mantel, author of ‘Wolf Hall’ Tudor saga, dies at 70
LONDON — Hilary Mantel, the Booker Prize-winning author who turned Tudor power politics into page-turning fiction in the acclaimed “Wolf Hall” trilogy of historical novels, has died, her publisher said Friday. She was 70. Mantel died “suddenly yet peacefully” on Thursday while surrounded by close family and friends, publisher HarperCollins...
Maury Wills, base-stealing shortstop for Dodgers, dies at 89
LOS ANGELES — Maury Wills, who intimidated pitchers with his base-stealing prowess as a shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers on three World Series championship teams, has died. He was 89. Wills died Monday night at home in Sedona, Ariz., the team said Tuesday after being informed by family members....
Ken Starr, whose probe led to Clinton impeachment, dies
WASHINGTON — Ken Starr, a former federal appellate judge and a prominent attorney whose criminal investigation of Bill Clinton led to the president’s impeachment, has died at age 76, his family said Tuesday. Starr died at a hospital Tuesday of complications from surgery, according to his former colleague, attorney Mark...
Iconic French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard dead at 91Video
GENEVA — Jean-Luc Godard, the ingenious “enfant terrible” of the French New Wave who revolutionized popular cinema in 1960 with his first big endeavor, “Breathless,” and stood for years as one of the world’s most vital and provocative directors, has died. He was 91. Swiss news agency ATS quoted Godard’s...
Marsha Hunt, ’40s star and blacklist victim, dies at 104
TORONTO — Marsha Hunt, one of the last surviving actors from Hollywood’s so-called Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s who worked with performers ranging from Laurence Olivier to Andy Griffith in a career disrupted for a time by the McCarthy-era blacklist, has died. She was 104. Hunt, who appeared...
Peter Straub, influential horror author and Stephen King collaborator, dies at 79
Horror writer Peter Straub, who cemented his place in the genre with works including “Ghost Story,” “The Talisman” and “A Dark Matter,” has died. He was 79. Straub’s son, Benjamin, told the Los Angeles Times he died “surrounded by love ones” in Manhattan on Sunday from complications due to a...
Bernard Shaw, CNN’s 1st chief anchor, dies at 82
NEW YORK — Bernard Shaw, CNN’s chief anchor for two decades and a pioneering Black broadcast journalist best remembered for calmly reporting the beginning of the Gulf War in 1991 as missiles flew around him in Baghdad, has died. He was 82. He died of pneumonia on Wednesday at a...
Gustavo Arnal, Bed Bath & Beyond CFO, plunges to death from New York high-rise
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Chief Financial Officer Gustavo Arnal fell to his death from a skyscraper in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood on Friday. The Union, New Jersey-based company confirmed it was Arnal who died in a statement Sunday. Earlier on Sunday, the New York Police Department named the person as...
Barbara Ehrenreich, ‘myth busting’ writer and activist, dies
NEW YORK — Barbara Ehrenreich, the author, activist and self-described “myth buster” who in such notable works as “Nickel and Dimed” and “Bait and Switch” challenged conventional thinking about class, religion and the very idea of an American dream, has died at age 81. Ehrenreich died Thursday morning in Alexandria,...
Former Tribune-Review VP Carroll Quinn’s infectious attitude inspired family and business partners
The charisma and upbeat attitude Carroll Quinn embodied served him well in managing what can be a tough part of the newspaper industry: circulation. Retired Tribune-Review general manager Art McMullen said Quinn’s personality was a good fit in the role of vice president of circulation and production, ensuring newspapers reached...
Westmoreland courthouse ‘legend’ Myrna McCloskey mourned
Election nights at the Westmoreland County Courthouse used to be the place to be for local politicos to gather. Long after polls closed at 8 p.m., and after working a full day at the courthouse, it was common to see Myrna McCloskey seated at a small table in the commissioners’...
Russian media: Ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev dead at 91
MOSCOW — Mikhail Gorbachev, who as the last leader of the Soviet Union waged a losing battle to salvage a crumbling empire but produced extraordinary reforms that led to the end of the Cold War, died Tuesday. He was 91. The Central Clinical Hospital said in a statement that Gorbachev...
Tributes pour in after death of Broadway veteran and ‘Sopranos’ actor Robert LuPone at age 76
New York City’s theater community and beyond paid tribute Sunday to Broadway veteran and “The Sopranos” co-star Robert LuPone, the Tony- and Emmy-nominated actor who died the day before of pancreatic cancer. The older brother of Broadway icon Patti LuPone was 76. The versatile Brooklyn-born actor earned a Tony nomination...
Pittsburgh union leader Jack Shea remembered as a ‘giant’ in labor movement
Jack Shea was the face of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council when he was its president for close to two decades, speaking at labor rallies and supporting strikers on the picket line. Shea died Monday, Aug. 29, 2022. He was 79. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald called Shea a “giant”...
Gary Gaines, coach of ‘Friday Night Lights’ fame, dead at 73
LUBBOCK, Texas — Gary Gaines, coach of the Texas high school football team made famous in the book and movie “Friday Night Lights,” has died. He was 73. Gaines’ family said in a statement the former coach died Monday in Lubbock after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Gaines made...
Pete Carril, old-school Princeton coaching maestro, dies at 92
Pete Carril, the rumpled, cigar-smoking basketball coach who led Princeton to 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, where his teams unnerved formidable opponents and rattled March Madness with old-school fundamentals, died Monday. He was 92. Princeton released a statement from Carril’s family, which said he died “peacefully this morning. It...
