obituaries
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.
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.
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.
Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel Prize-winning Peruvian author, dies at age 89
A giant of Latin American culture, Llosa used powerful imagery and sometimes fantastical storytelling to explore issues of male violence, societal disruption and authoritarian politics.
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.
Actress Michelle Trachtenberg, of ‘Harriet the Spy’ and ‘Gossip Girl’ dies at 39
The actress was found dead in an apartment in Manhattan on Wednesday, police said.
Bestselling novelist Tom Robbins dies at 92
Robbins dazzled readers with the whimsy and imagination in his books, including Jitterbug Perfume, Skinny Legs and All and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
