 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
News and Entertainment
Cliff “Kid” Bastien - Canadian jazz musician and leader of Kid Bastien and the Happy Pals, a New Orleans style jazz band that was a fixture at festivals and jazz cruises for years, died Feb. 8 in Toronto at age 64.
Ruby Braff - Jazz, Dixieland and swing cornetist known for his unique sound, who worked with Benny Goodman, Buck Clayton, Pee Wee Russell, Dick Hyman and Ellis Larkin among others, and released several dozen LP’s since 1951, died Feb. 9 at age 75.
Manoel Francisco do Nascimento Brito - Executive director of one of Brazil’s leading newspaper, “Jornal do Brasil”, for more than 50 years, enduring 21 years of a military dictatorship in that country while maintaining an independent political line, died Feb. 8 in Rio de Janeiro from the complications of a stroke at age 80.
Anne Burr - Actress best known for her roles on the Broadway stage and on radio during the 1940’s, who appeared on shows in the early days of TV like “Studio One” and “City Hospital”, but was blacklisted for several years before returning to TV in the soap opera “As The World Turns”, died Feb. 1 of respiratory failure in Old Lyme, CT at age 84.
Rene Cardona Jr. - Mexican film writer and director who along with his father were responsible for some of the schlockiest exploitation films ever with titles like “Night of the Bloody Apes”, “Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy” and “Blood Feast”, died Feb. 5 of cancer at age 63.
Joe Connelly - Television writer and producer who along with partner Bob Mosher created two of the most enduring TV series of all time, “Leave It To Beaver” and “The Munsters”, who modeled The Beaver and Wally from his own children, died Feb. 13 in Newport Beach, CA from complications of a stroke at age 85.
Don Davenport - Doo-wop singer (bass) who was a member The Laredos (with Tommy Hust and Bernie Turnbull), as well as The Counts, died Jan. 1 of emphysema & bleeding ulcers in Trenton, MI at age 64.
Holmes "Daddy-O" Daylie - The first African American to host a regularly scheduled network radio show in Chicago when he joined WMAQ in 1956 playing contemporary jazz and adding his hip patter, died Feb. 6 after a stroke in Chicago at age 82.
Daniel Toscan du Plantier - French film producer of such films as Francois Truffaut's "The Last Metro" and Maurice Pialat's "Van Gogh", whose main cause was the promotion of French films outside France, died Feb. 10 in Berlin of a heart at age 61.
Herbie Flynn - Retired attorney who found a second career as an actor and became a favorite of the Farrelly brothers, appearing in their films “Me, Myself & Irene”, “Shallow Hal”, “There’s Something About Mary” and “Kingpin”, died Feb. 11 of cancer in Hyannis, MA at age 85.
Ron Fortner - Syndicated radio talk show host on the Talk Radio Network, who was a longtime Palm Springs, California radio host and TV news anchor, died Feb. 7 in Cathedral City, CA of cancer at age 61.
Moses Hogan - Pianist, conductor and arranger known for his contemporary arrangements of spirituals and the choirs he led them in, who edited the Oxford Book of Spirituals published in 2001 that has become the U.S. music division’s top seller, died Feb. 11 of a brain tumor in New Orleans at age 45.
Tommy Hust - Doo-wop singer who was a member The Laredos (with Don Davenport and Bernie Turnbull), as well as The Reflections, died Jan. 13 in Wayne, MI at age 62.
Jose Lewgoy - Brazilian actor who appeared in over 120 movies since 1949, including prominent roles in the American films “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “Moon Over Parador”, died Feb. 10 in Rio de Janeiro of lung disease at age 82.
Stacy Keach Sr. - Character actor who appeared in hundreds of TV shows, including a recurring role as professor Carlson on “Get Smart”, and who is the father of actors Stacy Keach and James Keach, died Feb. 13 of congestive heart failure in Burbank, CA at age 88.
Pauline “Mom” Lewis - Matriarch of the Lewis Family gospel bluegrass singing group, though not a performer, who made all of the stage clothes and handled the family business, and who was married to “Pop” Lewis for 77 years, died Feb. 8 after a brief illness in Washington, GA at age 92.
Jack Maher - Publisher of Down Beat, the world’s most revered jazz magazine, who transformed the struggling journal into a profitable business, and led the magazine for more than 3 decades, died Feb. 14 in Downers Grove, IL at age 78.
Raymond McLain - Founder of the McLain Family Band, a Kentucky-based bluegrass band consisting of Raymond and his five children, died of cancer on Feb. 14 in Lexington, KY at age 74.
John Nesci - Actor who had small parts in several popular films including “Pollock” and “RoboCop 3”, but may best be remembered as the landlord in “Joe’s Apartment”, died Dec. 24 at age 57.
Claude Pepper (aka Jack Mack) - Original lead singer of the R&B group Jack Mack & the Heart Attack formed in 1980, whose real name was Jack Mack but who took the stage name Claude Pepper (when the group was formed the other members liked his real name so much they used it for the group’s name), and who left the group in 1987, died Feb. 4 of cancer (not a heart attack!) in Sacramento, CA at age 50.
Ted Perry - Founder in 1980 of Hyperion Records, the British classical music label known for both for its unusual releases and for its explorations of otherwise neglected British composers, which has become a favorite of collectors, died Feb. 9 in London of lung cancer at age 71.
Vera Hruba Ralston - Beautiful Czech-born ice-skating star who married Herbert Yates, the head of Republic Pictures, who cast her in a couple dozen films in the 40’s and 50’s, but whose films never caught the public’s attention the way rival Sonja Henie’s did, died Feb. 9 of cancer in Santa Barbara, CA at age 79.
Tam Reid - Scottish singer known as the King of the Bothy Ballad (“a traditional rustic genre not unlike the American cowboy song, but a great deal less comprehensible to English ears”), whose best known song is “Princie and Jean”, died Jan. 29 in Aberdeenshire after collapsing in the snow while feeding his livestock. He was 73.
Malcolm Roberts - British crooner in the vein of Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck who had a pair of hits in the U.K. with "May I Have the Next Dream with You" and “Love Is All”, but surprisingly had more success in South America than England, died Feb. 7 of a heart attack in Addlestone, Surrey, England at age 57.
Ma Sanli - Popular Chinese master performer of the traditional Chinese art of crosstalk, a rhythmic, often humorous mix of dialogue and storytelling, who often used crosstalk to express opinions on the ugliness and viciousness of society, died Feb. 11 of bladder cancer in Beijing at age 88.
Peter Schat - Dutch classical composer who was known for wild combinations of instruments on pieces like “Thema”, and for developing the harmonic system called the "Tone Clock" in the 1970’s, died Feb. 3 in Amsterdam at age 67.
Johnny Silver - Prolific TV actor who appeared in dozens of shows including “Dick Van Dyke Show”, “Mannix”, “The Odd Couple”, “Matlock” and “Seinfeld”, but who is probably best known for his role as Benny Southstreet in both the Broadway and film version of “Guys & Dolls”, died Feb. 1 in Los Angeles at age 84.
Roger Troutman II - Son of murdered R&B-funk master Roger Troutman, who was known as Little Roger and Lynch, and performed with his father’s group Zapp on several of their hits and on tour, who recorded as Lynch and had a minor hit of his own in 1989 with “Magic Spell”, and worked with the R&B act Mint Condition, died on Jan. 22 in Minneapolis from complications of a head injury suffered several months earlier. His age was unstated (late 20’s).
Bernie Turnbull - Doo-wop singer(tenor) who was a member The Laredos (with Don Davenport and Tommy Hust), as well as The Reflections, died Feb. 5 in Wayne, MI at age 66.
Joan Williams - Modern and classical composer known for creating music around the sounds of life, such as banging hammers and croaking frogs, died Jan. 30 of Parkinson’s disease in Seattle at age 72.
Freda Woodward - Mother of Welsh singer Tom Jones whom he called “his driving force”, died Feb. 7 of cancer in Los Angeles at age 87.
Sports
Bob Billings - Basketball player on the 1957 runner-up Kansas Jayhawk team that lost in triple overtime to North Carolina in the championship game, who was a lifelong friend of teammate Wilt Chamberlain, died Feb. 13 in Lawrence, KS at age 65.
Albert Finch - British middleweight champion whose greatest achievement was becoming the first fighter to beat the great Randolph Turpin in 1948 (Turpin later defeated Finch and then Sugar Ray Robinson to capture the world middleweight crown), died Jan. 23 in England at age 76.
Kid Gavilan (real name Gerardo Gonzalez) - Cuban-born boxer who was one of the most popular fighters of the 1940’s and 50’s, who won the welterweight title in 1951 and held it for 3 years until losing to Johnny Saxton, and who was one of the first inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, died Feb. 13 of a heart attack in Miami at age 77.
Curt Henning - Professional wrestler who wrestled as “Mr. Perfect” in a career spanning 22 years, who was the son of wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig and had worked for the WWE but had been appearing as an independent, most recently at a Jimmy Hart All-Star Wrestling event in Florida, was found dead on Feb. 10 in his hotel room in Tampa apparently of natural causes at age 44.
John ‘Whack’ Hyder - Head basketball coach at Georgia Tech from 1951 to 1973 who is the second winningest basketball coach at Georgia Tech (behind Bobby Cremins), who led the Yellow Jackets to its first NCAA appearance in 1960 and two NIT appearances, died Feb. 9 in Atlanta at age 90.
Marc Iliffe - Man crowned as “Britain’s strongest man” and who competed in two World’s Strongest Man competitions, committed suicide by hanging himself in the gym of his home. He was 30 years old.
Johnny Longden - Jockey who won a Triple Crown in 1943 aboard Count Fleet, and who became the only man to ride and train a Kentucky Derby winner when he trained Majestic Prince who won the Derby in 1969, died Feb. 14 in Banning, CA on his 96th birthday.
Ed Martin - Booster at the University of Michigan who pleaded guilty in May 2002 of conspiracy to launder money, when he gave $616,000 to for Michigan players while they were still amateurs, and who was awaiting sentencing at the time of his death, died Feb. 14 of a pulmonary embolism in Detroit at age 69.
Richard "Bo" Pacheco - College baseball player at Modesto Junior College in California, who was diagnosed recently with pleurisy, an infection of the lungs, and put on medication by doctors, died Feb. 13 of unknown causes after playing basketball with friends. He was 19 years old.
Kim Prince - Broadcast journalist for ESPN, where he covered the French Open tennis championships and worked for the ESPN program, "The Great American Sportsman", and who co-hosted “Look”, a Boston-area news show, died Feb. 4 in Naples, FL at age 58.
Haywood Sullivan - Baseball player, manager, general manager and owner, who had a long relationship with the Boston Red Sox including seven years as a catcher during 1955 to 1963 and as part of the group that bought the team in 1978 when Tom Yawkey died, who co-owned until 1983, died Feb. 12 in Ft. Myers, FL after a stroke at age 72.
Art and Literature
Herb Brin - Journalist and poet who operated the Jewish newspaper Heritage from 1954 until 2001, and who published five volumes of poetry including “Poems From the Rubio” and “Wild Flowers”, died Feb. 6 of congestive heart failure in Reseda, CA at age 87.
Harriet Ann Hale - Painter with cerebral palsy who couldn’t talk or use her arms and legs, who learned to paint with a paintbrush attached to a headpiece, and who founded the Seattle arts organization Artists Unlimited, died Feb. 8 of pneumonia in Seattle at age 60.
Evangeline Machlin - Theatre teacher and author who taught speech and projection to actors like Joanne Woodward, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway and Jane Alexander, and wrote the theatre textbooks “Speech For the Stage” and “Dialects of the Stage”, died Feb. 1 in Camden, ME at age 95.
Richard Lee Marks - Author who blended historical facts and novelistic techniques to create almost a new type of literature, and whose subjects included Cortes (“Cortes”), and Charles Darwin (“Three Men of the Beagle”), died Feb. 1 of heart failure in Topeka, KS at age 80.
Genso Okuda - One of the leading figures in Japanese-style painting, who opened new frontiers in modern Japanese-style painting of landscapes, combining the ink painting style of China and Japan with the colors of Western painting, died Feb. 15 in Tokyo at age 90.
Paul D. Strang - Dog breeder, American Kennel Club judge and author of several books about dog breeds including "The Complete Great Pyrenees" and "The White German Shepherd Book", who was one of the first in the U.S. to import the wrinkle-coated Shar-Pei from China, died Feb. 2 in Washington, DC of heart ailments at age 90.
Politics and Military
Wilbur “Wade” Hawkins - Sailor on the U.S.S. Tennessee stationed in Pearl Harbor, who survived the attack by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941, and who spent most of his life telling schoolchildren about his experiences and more recently ran a website dedicated to Pearl Harbor, died Feb. 8 in Kirkland, WA at age 84.
Mahmoud Kahil - Internationally known political cartoonist at Arab News, who was a supporter of the Palestinian people and their cause, known for his cartoons that exposed Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon’s bloody conflict, died Feb. 11 after surgery in London. His age was unstated.
Daniel L. Leedy - Head of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from 1945 to 1974 who was a leading conservationist, and for whom the National Institute for Urban Wildlife named its conservation award, died Jan. 20 of heart failure in Washington, DC at age 90.
Clark MacGregor - U.S. Congressman from Minnesota who served from 1961 to 1971 as a Republican, who left office to become chairman of Richard Nixon’s re-election committee in 1972 and who was Nixon’s counsel for congressional relations at the time of the Watergate break-in (another Deep Throat candidate?), died Feb. 10 of respiratory failure in Pompano Beach, FL at age 80.
Harry McCool - One of the Navy crewmen involved in the historic Doolittle raid invasion of Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor, whose plane was attacked by the Japanese fighters before they could drop their bomb load, who ditched over China and was saved by the Chinese, died Feb. 8 of prostate cancer in San Antonio, TX at age 84.
Alvin W. Penn - Democratic Connecticut state senator who served for 10 years, and was known for challenging racial discrimination and fighting for the urban poor, died Feb. 14 of pancreatic cancer in Branford, CT at age 54.
Walter L. Pforzheimer - One of the original founders of the CIA, who helped write the National Security Act of 1947 which established the agency, and became the first curator of the agency's historical intelligence collection, died Feb. 10 in Washington after a lengthy illness at age 88.
John Reading - Mayor of Oakland, California from 1966 to 1977, who backed the building of the Oakland Coliseum and expanded the Oakland airport, died Feb. 7 in Indian Wells, CA at age 85.
Walt Rostow - National security advisor in both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, who along with his brother Eugene Rostow, the undersecretary of state, defended the U.S.’s role in Vietnam, died Feb. 13 in Austin, TX at age 86.
Al Ruffo - Influential mayor of San Jose, California who transferred the city in the 1940’s and 50’s from an agricultural town to a modern city, who played football and later became head football coach at Santa Clara, and helped form the San Francisco 49’ers football team in 1946 (and even served as an assistant coach for one season!), died Feb. 10 of natural causes at age 94.
Augusto "Bobbit" Sanchez - Philippine labor secretary and human rights lawyer who defended opponents of Marcos during the strongman's 1972-1986 rule and led lawyers and activists in street protests against Marcos, and was named labor secretary by Marco’s successor Corazon Aquino, died Feb. 15 of a heart attack in Manila at age 70.
Ron Ziegler - White House press secretary for Richard Nixon, who was only 29 when he took the job in 1969, whose relationship with the press became hostile as the Watergate scandal unfolded, but who was one of only a few close Nixon aides who escaped criminal indictment, died of a heart attack on Feb. 10 in Coronado, CA at age 63.
Social and Religion
Sister Mary Ignatius Davies - Nun who ran the Alpha Boys School in Kingston, Jamaica, known for turning out top-notch Jamaican musicians including Johnny Moore, Dan Drummond, Tommy McCook and Joe Harriot, whose influence on cultivating musical talent was immeasurable, died of a heart attack Feb. 9 in the West Indies at age 81.
Daniel Feussner - Director of operations in the search engine division at Microsoft who was arrested in December 2002 for stealing $9 million worth of software from his employer, which he stole to finance a lavish lifestyle that included a Hummer and 51-foot yacht, died Feb. 7 of multiple organ failure (toxicology reports are pending) in Bellevue, WA at age 32.
Bobby Joe Fields - Oklahoma man convicted of the 1983 shooting murder of 77-year-old Louise Schem (he was 19 at the time), after he broke into her home to steal a TV (she had a gun which he was able to take from her during a struggle), was executed by lethal injection in McAlester at age 39.
Richard E. Fox - Ohio man who was convicted of stabbing and strangling 18-year-old college student Leslie Keckler in 1989 after he had lured her to a fake job interview, was executed by lethal injection on Feb. 12 in Lucasville, OH at age 47.
George Freestone - Man who was believed to be the oldest Boy Scout, who made history in 1910 when he joined one of the first troops in the U.S. at age 12 in Los Angeles, died Feb. 8 in Mesa, AZ at age 104.
Sean Killeen - Expert on the music of American folk and blues pioneer Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, who was president of the Lead Belly Society (among many, many things this man was involved in), died Feb. 8 of a heart attack while in Nashville to address a folk music convention. He was 60.
Sister Raymunde McKay - Former president of the all-girl Marymount College who oversaw the merger of the school with Loyola University in 1963 becoming Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, died Feb. 1 in Tarrytown, NY at age 86.
Kaiya Montaocean - Alternative medicine advocate who founded the Center for Natural and Traditional Medicines, who also was an advocate for American Indian groups, died Feb. 3 of cancer in Cheverly, MD at age 57.
Greg Newell - Man called “the Father of Spring Break”, who opened his club “The Button” in Ft. Lauderdale in 1970 and lured partying kids from all over the country to south Florida, died Feb. 12 of lung and liver cancer at age 69.
Mattie Owens - The daughter of slaves who may have been the oldest person in the world, but lacked documentation to prove her age, died Feb. 7 in Island Park, NY at the claimed age of 119.
Etna Taylor - Woman believed to be the oldest documented living resident of the state of New York, died Feb. 9 in Queens, NY at age 112.
Kerri Yascheshyn - Canadian girl and aspiring actress and ballerina who was diagnosed with liver cancer last November, who was in the news recently after wishing for and getting to meet Madonna, and who received daily phone calls from the recording artist, succumbed Feb 9 in Toronto at age 17.
Business and Science
Dr. Neville Colman - Prominent New York hematologist who became a forensic DNA expert and furthered the acceptance of DNA as a forensic tool in the 1980's, and published quality control guidelines for DNA testing, died Feb. 11 in Morningside Heights, NY of gastric cancer at age 57.
Dolly - Pioneering sheep who was the world’s first cloned mammal and whose very existence prompted both exhilaration among the scientific community and outrage among religious fundamentalists, but whose health was never good with research suggesting she was susceptible to premature aging, was euthanized on Feb. 14 in Edinburgh, Scotland after being diagnosed with progressive lung disease. She was 6 years old (normal life expectancy of sheep is about 12.5 years) and her body has been promised to the National Museum of Scotland for eventual display.
David Feller - Attorney and labor law expert who represented the NAACP in the 1950s and was one of the attorneys who assisted Thurgood Marshall in challenging school segregation, died Feb. 10 in Oakand, CA at age 86.
Dr. Harold S. Ginsberg - Microbiologist whose research paved the way for the field of virology and knowledge of infectious diseases, who described how adenoviruses lie dormant and how they become infectious and attack they invaded host cells, which led to the development of several vaccines, and who later moved to AIDS research, died Feb. 2 of pneumonia in Woods Hole, MA at age 85.
Dr. Robert W. Jamplis - Noted thoracic surgeon and author, who was a pioneer in group medical practice in the United States, who served as president of both the American Group Practice Association and the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association, died Feb. 3 in Woodside, CA at age 82.
George Llano - Noted biologist, lichenologist and National Science Foundation polar expert for whom an icy mountain and an extinct family of whales were named, who led the efforts in the 1950’s to conduct research in Antarctica, died Feb. 9 of influenza on board a ship to the Falkland Islands at age 93.
Louis B. Schwartz - Legal scholar whose model penal code which he developed in 1962 was regarded as one of the most significant works of legal scholarship and changed the way laws in 35 states were codified, died Jan. 23 in San Francisco at age 89.
D.R. Segal - President and chief executive from 1979 to 1992 of Freedom Communications Inc., a southern California media company which owns broadcast stations and newspapers, among them the Orange County Register, died Feb. 11 of Alzheimer’s complications in Corona Del Mar at age 82.
Marcello Truzzi - Sociologist and parapsychologist who founded and became director of the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research, which is dedicated to investigating unusual phenomena, especially psychic communication, died Feb. 2 of colon rectal cancer in Ann Arbor, MI at age 67.
John Westergaard - Financial advisor who founded Equity Research Assoc., which focused on investments in small companies, and who later started the Westergaard Fund, but whose practices came under fire when the SEC filed securities fraud charges against him in 2000, died Jan. 31 of prostate cancer in the Bronx, NY at age 71.
Kemmons Wilson - Founder of the Holiday Inn chain of hotels known as the “father of the modern innkeeping industry”, who started the chain in 1951 because he wanted a place where children could stay free, and built his company into a worldwide behemoth, died Feb. 12 of undetermined causes in Memphis at age 90.
Return to Top