Obituaries
Brian Wilson, the troubled genius behind The Beach Boys, has died at age 82
The Beach Boys' co-founder, songwriter and producer transformed pop music into high art, and became America's answer to The Beatles' Lennon and McCartney in the process.
‘Day of the Jackal’ author Frederick Forsyth dies at 86
Born in 1938, Forsyth served as a Royal Air Force pilot before becoming a journalist. He covered the attempted assassination of French President Charles de Gaulle, which inspired The Day of the Jackal.
Sly Stone, visionary funk frontman of the Family Stone, has died at age 82
The musical visionary led a multi-racial funk band that produced five Top 10 hits in the late 1960s and early '70s.
Edmund White, who broke ground in gay literature, has died at 85
Many of White's books chronicled his own experiences as a gay man, making an indelible impression on gay culture and how LGBTQ experiences were understood more broadly at the dawning of the AIDS health crisis.
Bernard Kerik, who led NYPD on 9/11 before prison and pardon, has died at 69
Kerik, an Army veteran, was hailed as a hero after the 9/11 attack and eventually nominated to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, before a dramatic fall from grace that ended with him behind bars.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Kenyan literary giant who fought colonialism, dies at 87
The Kenyan author championed local African languages and was imprisoned for his work. His name was often mentioned in discussions about the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Al Foster, drummer for Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, has died
The superbly alert and flexible drummer formed a swirling current in modern jazz for more than 60 years. He was 82.
Harrison Ruffin Tyler, grandson of the 10th U.S. president, dies at 96
Harrison Ruffin Tyler was just three generations from the White House, since his father and grandfather both fathered children in their 70s. The chemical engineer helped preserve his family's legacy.
Susan Brownmiller, whose landmark book changed attitudes on rape, dies at 90
In 1975, Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape explored pernicious cultural and legal attitudes about rape and helped debunk the long-held view that victims were partly to blame.
Marcel Ophuls, who chronicled 20th century conflict and atrocities, dies at 97
"There's a relationship between attention span and morality," Ophuls said. The filmmaker commanded his audience's attention in four-plus-hour documentaries like The Sorrow and The Pity and Hôtel Terminus.
Jim Irsay, longtime Colts owner and music memorabilia collector, dies at 65
Irsay started with the Colts as a teenage ball boy and took ownership after his father's death in 1997. The team won a Super Bowl and two AFC championships under his nearly three-decade tenure.
George Wendt, who played Norm on ‘Cheers,’ has died
Wendt got his start in Chicago's The Second City improv comedy troupe. He went on to earn six Primetime Emmy nominations for his role as a lovable barfly on Cheers.
Charles Strouse, Broadway composer of ‘Annie’ and ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ dies at 96
The Broadway composer of Annie and Bye Bye Birdie died Thursday at 96.
Uruguay’s ex-President José Mujica, nicknamed ‘world’s poorest president,’ dies at 89
José Mujica, the charismatic former guerrilla fighter who later went on to lead Uruguay and became known as "the world's poorest president" for his austere lifestyle, has died at 89.
Actress and ‘Laugh-In’ comedian Ruth Buzzi dies at 88
Buzzi, who was best known for her regular appearances on the NBC variety TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, died on Thursday at her home in Texas.
The world’s oldest person, a 116-year-old Brazilian nun, has died
Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, a soccer-loving nun born in 1908, is remembered as compassionate and dedicated to her faith.
Pope Francis, who reached out to the margins of society, has died at 88
The pope was a strong advocate for the poor and the environment and a towering figure on the world stage, addressing not just Catholics but the men and women of our time.
Francis Davis, a figurehead of jazz criticism, has died
His wife, Fresh Air host Terry Gross, said the longtime contributor to The Village Voice and NPR had been living with emphysema and Parkinson's disease.
Wink Martindale, the genial game show host and early interviewer of Elvis, dies at 91
The legendary TV host of game shows "Tic-Tac-Dough" and "Gambit" died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. He had been battling lymphoma for a year.
Jay North, TV’s mischievous ‘Dennis the Menace,’ dies at 73
Jay North, who starred as the towheaded mischief maker on TV's Dennis the Menace for four seasons starting in 1959, has died. He was 73.
Amadou Bagayoko, one half of Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, dies at 70
Bagayoko, an acclaimed guitarist and half of the Grammy-nominated blind duo Amadou & Mariam, died in his hometown of Bamako on Friday.
‘Oliver and Amanda Pig’ series author Jean Van Leeuwen dies at 87
The children's book author best known for her Oliver and Amanda Pig series has died at 87. Van Leeuwen wrote nearly 60 books, some of which sold millions of copies.
Defrocked former D.C. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick dies at 94
Theodore McCarrick, a once-powerful Catholic cardinal who was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019 after a Vatican investigation determined he had molested adults and children, has died.
Remembering Michael Hurley, a godfather of folk music’s underground
Sometimes called the father of freak-folk, the 83-year-old singer-songwriter lived, worked and died on his own terms.
Appreciating the many onscreen moods of Val Kilmer
More than a hundred roles in a nearly four-decade career let Val Kilmer explore a wealth of human experience.
Max Frankel, former New York Times top editor, dies at 94
Frankel was The New York Times' executive editor from 1986 to 1994. He remained with the newspaper for nearly half a century, ushering it through different eras.
George Foreman, the fearsome heavyweight who became a beloved champion, dies at 76
The heavyweight who lost the "Rumble in the Jungle" to Muhammad Ali before authoring an inspiring second act as a 45-year-old champion and a successful businessman was 76.
Ex-F1 team owner and media personality Eddie Jordan has died at 76
Jordan ran his own team in the 1990s and 2000s in Formula 1. He became a popular pundit on TV after selling the team in 2005.
Aurelio Martínez, ambassador of Garifuna music, has died
The Honduran musician, one of the most recognized proponents of a Caribbean culture dating to the 17th century, died Monday in an airplane crash.
Jesse Colin Young, singer of The Youngbloods’ ‘Get Together,’ dies at 83
Prolific musician Jesse Colin Young, best known for being the voice of the '60s folk-rock anthem "Get Together," died on Sunday at age 83.
John Feinstein, sports writer and author of ‘A Season on the Brink,’ dies at 69
Feinstein was comfortable writing fiction and nonfiction, and took on an array of sports, including golf and tennis, but he was known most for his connection to college basketball
Sofia Gubaidulina, the composer who fused sound and spirituality, has died at age 93
One of the first modern women composers to reach international acclaim, Gubaidulina wrote bold music, inspired by Eastern and Western philosophies, and the joy of sound itself.
