Bruce Conner (74) artist internationally known for his surrealistic sculptures and ground-breaking avant-garde films. A key figure on the San Francisco Beat scene in the late '50s, Conner first became known for his assemblages made from women's stockings, furniture parts, broken toys, fur, costume jewelry, paint, photographs, and candles. Those works (created 1957-64) looked like avant-garde sculpture but also seemed old and musty, like broken-down junk found in the attic. Conner died in San Francisco, California on July 7, 2008.

Sherman E. Lee (90) former director of the Cleveland Museum of Art who expanded its Asian art and Old Master collections. Lee joined the museum in 1952 as curator of Oriental art, was appointed its third director in '58, and held the post for 25 years. He had had several small strokes and suffered from Parkinson's disease. He died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on July 9, 2008.

Joseph F. McCrindle (85) art collector who amassed a trove of old master drawings and founded and edited the Transatlantic Review (1959-77) to showcase young writers. McCrindle died in New York City on July 11, 2008.

Hiroaki ("Rocky") Aoki (69) founder of the Benihana chain of steakhouses, where Japanese chefs with flashing knives double as performers. Aoki suffered from diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, and hepatitis C, which he contracted from a blood transfusion. He died of pneumonia and cancer in New York City on July 10, 2008.

Dr. Michael E. DeBakey (99) world-famous cardiovascular surgeon who pioneered such now-common procedures as bypass surgery and invented devices to help heart patients. DeBakey counted world leaders among his patients and helped to turn Baylor University from a provincial school into one of the nation's great medical institutions. He died in Houston, Texas on July 11, 2008.

Dr. Michael B. Gregg (78) epidemiologist and former editor (1967-88) of the Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, a federal medical bulletin that published early warnings of the impending AIDS crisis in 1981. Gregg died of congestive heart failure in Brattleboro, Vermont on July 9, 2008.

Roy M. Huffington (90) Texas oilman and philanthropist, a former US ambassador to Austria. Huffington founded the Huffington Foundation, which donated millions of dollars to Houston charities, and was chairman of the New York-based Asia Society for more than seven years in the '80s. He died while traveling out of the country, on July 11, 2008.

Archie R. McCardell (81) business executive whose bottom-line approach as new chief of the International Harvester Co. in the late '70s drew praise from Wall Street but the enmity of labor, ending in a bitter five-and-a-half-month strike that left IH on the brink of bankruptcy. In 1986 its truck and engines division became Navistar International Corp. McCardell died of heart failure in Casper, Wyoming on July 11, 2008.

J. Murdoch Ritchie (83) Yale biophysicist who used a powerful neurotoxin—saxitoxin, derived from clams—to help trace the way nerve cells conduct electrical impulses. In 1975, Ritchie famously asked the Central Intelligence Agency to share its supply of the rare poison, used to make suicide pills for captured spies, with scientists. He died in Hamden, Connecticut on July 9, 2008.

Sir John M. Templeton (95) Tennessee-born investor and philanthropist who amassed a fortune as a pioneer in global mutual funds, then gave away hundreds of millions of dollars to foster understanding of what he called "spiritual realities." After many years on Wall Street, Templeton renounced his American citizenship in the '60s, became a British subject, and moved to the Bahamas, a Commonwealth nation that has long been a tax haven. In 1987, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his philanthropy. He died of pneumonia in Nassau, the Bahamas on July 8, 2008.

Gerald Tsai Jr. (79) fund manager and financier who pioneered the creation of performance funds in the '50s and '60s and later turned a canning company into the financial services giant Primerica. But Tsai was most famous for his skill in building mutual funds. He was not yet 30 when he started Fidelity Investments' first aggressive growth fund in 1958, boosting the popularity of "momentum investing" as his funds quickly moved money from one hot growth stock to another. He died of multiple organ failure in New York City on July 9, 2008.

Arthur Weinstein (60) former co-owner of several ultrahip New York nightclubs in the '70s, including Hurrah, later eclipsed by Steve Rubell's celebrated Studio 54. Weinstein died of head and neck cancer in New York City on July 9, 2008.

Alexander Vladimir d'Arbeloff (80) former chairman of the MIT Corp. D'Arbeloff was cofounder and longtime chief executive of Teradyne Inc. He became chairman of MIT's board of trustees in 1997 and later taught at MIT's Sloan School of Management. With his wife, D'Arbeloff created the Fund for Excellence in MIT Education to support teaching innovations in science and engineering. He died in Boston, Massachusetts on July 8, 2008.

David H. Greene (94) scholar of Irish literature and an authorized biographer of playwright J. M. Synge, author of The Playboy of the Western World. For nearly 40 years, Greene taught at New York University. In the late '50s and early '60s, he was a lecturer on the WCBS-TV series Sunrise Semester, and on weekday afternoons he was the off-screen expert for the original version of the CBS game show Password. He died of pneumonia near Boynton Beach, Florida on July 9, 2008.

Joe C. Jackson (97) historian and former administrator at the University of Central Oklahoma. Jackson was vice president of academic affairs and dean of students and created several graduate programs. He was instrumental in the push that led to a 1971 change from Central State College to Central State University, later changed to the University of Central Oklahoma. The Joe C. Jackson College of Graduate Studies & Research is named in his honor, and he established a UCO scholarship in elementary education in honor of his wife. Jackson retired from UCO in 2004 as an adjunct professor. He died in Edmond, Oklahoma on July 7, 2008.

John Y. Simon (75) one of the US's foremost scholars on former President Ulysses S. Grant and the American Civil War. Simon spent more than 40 years at Southern Illinois University and had led the Ulysses S. Grant Association, based at the Carbondale school, since 1962. He died in Carbondale, Illinois on July 8, 2008.

Hayward ("Chuck") Carbo (82) singer whose ultrasmooth baritone fronted the '50s quintet The Spiders that made the world aware of New Orleans rhythm and blues. Carbo and his brother Leonard ("Chick") Carbo (d. 1998) were part of the premier New Orleans group. Both sides of their 1954 debut for Imperial Records, "I Didn't Want to Do It" and "You're the One," cracked the Top 10 of the national R&B charts. Chuck Carbo died in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 11, 2008.

Terry DeVine (62) journalist, a former news editor for the Associated Press and managing editor and columnist for the Fargo (ND) Forum. DeVine worked at the Forum for 27 years, most of the time as managing editor, before health problems forced him to retire in March. He was hospitalized in June with acute leukemia and died in Fargo, North Dakota on July 10, 2008.

Bobby Durham (71) jazz drummer whose understated style made him much sought after as a sideman by jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Oscar Peterson, and Ella Fitzgerald. Durham was probably best known for his trio work (1966-71) with Peterson at the piano and Ray Brown playing bass. He also drew notice (1973-80) as an accompanist to Fitzgerald. He died of lung cancer in Genoa, Italy on July 7, 2008.

Gene Evans (70) pyrotechnic designer whose fireworks displays lit up the night sky at the Hollywood Bowl for the last 39 years. During his nearly 40-year career, Evans was one of the pyrotechnic designers for the 1986 Statue of Liberty centennial celebration in New York Harbor. He also designed pyrotechnic special effects for several Las Vegas shows and for rock concerts. He had not been ill but died in his sleep 17 days before his 71st birthday, in Anaheim, California on July 8, 2008.

Sally Grammer (80) former singer and mother of multiaward-winning actor Kelsey Grammer, best known for his 20-year portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the long-running NBC sitcoms Cheers and Frasier. Sally Grammer was a four-time president of Tarzana's Women's Republican Club, even while her family life was plagued by repeated tragedies, including the 1975 brutal rape and murder of her daughter, Karen Grammer. Sally Grammer died in Westlake, California on July 7, 2008.

Claudio Guzman (80) Chilean-born producer of one of the nation's first bicultural Spanish-English educational TV programs for children, Villa Alegre, which premiered in 1973 on PBS. Guzman had directed more than 30 episodes of the TV sitcom I Dream of Jeannie when he helped to create Villa Alegre, a half-hour show in the tradition of Sesame Street. He died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California on July 12, 2008.

Charles H. Joffe (78) manager of comic talent who helped to guide the careers of Dick Cavett, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Woody Allen and coproduced nearly all Allen's films. Joffe and his former business partner, Jack Rollins, were the first to bring Lenny Bruce to New York and helped to develop the team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May. Joffe died one week before his 79th birthday, in Los Angeles, California on July 9, 2008.

Robert Leeney (92) former editor at the New Haven (Conn.) Register. During his long career there, Leeney was a reporter, book editor, theater critic, Broadway columnist, and editorial page editor. He was executive editor for 11 years and editor (1972-81), and wrote a Saturday column, "Editor's Note" (1974-2007). He died in Branford, Connecticut on July 6, 2008.

Dorian Leigh (91) model who combined blue eyes, startling eyelashes, intelligence, and sexuality to become one of history's most photographed models—perhaps the first supermodel. Leigh graced seven Vogue covers in 1946 and over the next six years appeared on more than 50 more covers of various magazines. Her images in Revlon's "Fire & Ice" nail polish and lipstick campaign in the '50s were shot by famed fashion photographer Richard Avedon and became Madison Avenue legend. Leigh was the elder sister of another famous model (and actress), Suzy Parker (d. 2003). Leigh died in Falls Church, Virginia on July 7, 2008.

Robert C. Lobdell (82) former vice president and general counsel for the Los Angeles Times and Times Mirror Co., the newspaper's former parent company (1965-86), recognized as one of the US's leading First Amendment attorneys. Among his major media cases, Lobdell successfully argued that a newspaper had the right to control the content of advertisements it publishes. He died of a bacterial infection in Stanford, California on July 7, 2008.

Gene Looper (86) fixture on south Texas radio and TV for more than 50 years. Looper delivered news about hurricanes, the first moon landing, the Vietnam war, and the John F. Kennedy assassination using a matter-of-fact, man-on-the-street style. He was a TV anchor and program director for Corpus Christi TV station KZTV and worked for local radio station KSIX starting in 1951. He died in Corpus Christi, Texas on July 9, 2008.

Nonna Mordyukova (82) Russian actress whose roles won her the status of the quintessential Soviet woman. Throughout a career that spanned 50 years, Mordyukova appeared in dozens of films, including some textbook examples of Soviet propaganda. Her characters often faced a tough choice between devotion to Communist dogma and the quiet happiness of family life. She suffered from diabetes and dementia and died in Moscow, Russia on July 6, 2008.

Thomas Nee (87) director of the La Jolla (Calif.) Symphony & Chorus for 31 years (1967-98) who built a small community ensemble into an orchestra of more than 100 musicians that regularly premiered works by contemporary composers. Nee died of kidney disease in Carlsbad, California on July 7, 2008.

Earl Lee Nelson (79) half of the soul-music singing duo Bob & Earl, best known for writing the rhythm-and-blues classic "Harlem Shuffle" (1963). The first "Bob" was Bobby Day, founder of the Flames; when Day resumed his solo career, Bobby Relf (d. 2007) stepped in. Nelson, who had Alzheimer's disease, died in Los Angeles, California on July 12, 2008.

Diana O'Brien (22) up-and-coming Canadian fashion model, one of the top 27 female international models listed on the web site of the Victoria, BC-based modeling agency Barbara Coultish Model Management. O'Brien was 10 days into a three-month contract with JH Model Agency in Shanghai after finishing three months of modeling in Milan but became homesick and planned to return to Canada. She was found stabbed to death in a stairwell of her apartment building during an apparent botched robbery, in Shanghai, China on July 7, 2008.

Update: Four days after O'Brien's body was discovered, police in Shanghai said they had arrested 18-year-old Chen Jun, who confessed to following her into her high-rise apartment, robbing her, and killing her when she tried to fight him off.

Tony Snow (53) former White House press secretary and conservative pundit who cheerfully sparred with the press corps and charmed millions as a FOX News TV and radio host. Snow died of colon cancer in Washington, DC on July 12, 2008.

Stu Sobol (50) veteran music industry manager who ran the Spivak Sobol Entertainment for more than 20 years before merging with the management company The Firm in 2004. Sobol's most recent clients included Hoobastank, Three Days Grace, Ryan Star, Hawthorne Heights, Eve 6, and Emily Osment. He died of pneumonia in Simi Valley, California on July 10, 2008.

Robert M. DeHaven (86) World War II fighter ace who downed 14 enemy planes in the Pacific and later became a test pilot and executive with Hughes Aircraft. DeHaven died in Encino, California on July 10, 2008.

Bruce R. Dowell (83) three-time war veteran who was Elvis Presley's commanding sergeant during the late rockabilly legend's brief stint in the US Army. Dowell died in St. Augustine, Florida on July 10, 2008.

Gen. Walter T. Kerwin Jr. (91) retired four-star general, the US Army's second-highest-ranking officer in the mid-'70s and an architect of the all-volunteer Army. Kerwin died of respiratory failure in Alexandria, Virginia on July 11, 2008.

Clem McSpadden (82) grandnephew of humorist Will Rogers (d. 1935) who served in the US Congress and became one of rodeo's premier announcers. McSpadden was a Democrat in the US House (1973-75) and founded the Congressional Rural Caucus. He ran for the Democrat nomination for Oklahoma governor in 1974 but lost to the general election's eventual winner, David Boren. McSpadden also won fame as the announcer at the National Finals Rodeo, where he helped to discover Grammy-winning country star Reba McEntire. He served in the Oklahoma Senate (1955-72), including two terms as its president pro tem, but never again sought political office after his failed run for governor, although he was still active as a lobbyist. He died of cancer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on July 7, 2008.

Anatoly Pristavkin (76) writer who headed the Russian Presidential Pardons Commission throughout the '90s, from its creation in 1992 until 2001, when it was abolished by Vladimir Putin shortly after he became president. Under former President Boris Yeltsin, the commission met every week to go through the histories of hundreds of people stuck in overcrowded prisons. On its recommendations, more than 70,000 people were pardoned over nine years. In 2007, there were none. Pristavkin died in Moscow, Russia on July 11, 2008.

Patricia Buckley Bozell (81) member of a prominent conservative family, a sister of the late William F. Buckley (d. Feb. 27), who helped to start Triumph, an opinion journal of Roman Catholic orthodoxy. Bozell died of throat cancer in Washington, DC on July 12, 2008.

Olive Riley (108) Australian woman promoted as the world's oldest blogger. A friend introduced Riley to blogging early in 2007, and she wrote 74 entries in two blogs about growing up in the Outback, raising three children, and working as a farm cook and bartender earlier in her life. She died in Woy Woy, about 50 miles south of Sydney, Australia, on July 12, 2008.

Ahmad Suradji (57) Indonesian serial killer convicted of slaying 42 women and girls, aged 11-30, over 11 years in a series of ritual killings he believed would give him magical powers. Police said the victims came to Suradji seeking his supernatural advice on making their spouses faithful or on how to get rich. He lured them to a sugar cane field near his home and buried them up to the waist, then strangled them before reburying them with their heads pointing toward his house. He was executed by firing squad in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 10, 2008.

Carlton Turner Jr. (28) Texas man whose execution was once blocked by the US Supreme Court while it considered a challenge to lethal injection. Turner had acknowledged fatally shooting his adoptive parents in 1998 in their suburban Dallas home. He was executed by lethal injection after the high court refused to issue a last-minute reprieve, in Huntsville, Texas on July 10, 2008.

Bob Ackles (69) one-time British Columbia Lions water boy who became the Canadian Football League team's president and chief executive. Besides his years with the Lions, Ackles worked in the NFL with Dallas, Arizona, Philadelphia, and Miami and was vice president and general manager of the Las Vegas Outlaws in the XFL. He died of a heart attack in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada on July 6, 2008.

Hal DeJulio (83) former college basketball player on Pete Newell's 1949 National Invitation Tournament championship team at the University of San Francisco. DeJulio also hosted recruits and sold the school to potential student-athletes. His effort was considered one of the key reasons Bill Russell went to USF. DeJulio was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1975. He died in San Francisco, California on July 12, 2008.

Bobby Murcer (62) five-time All-Star outfielder who spent nearly 40 years with the New York Yankees as a player, executive, and announcer. Murcer had surgery for a cancerous brain tumor in Houston in December 2006 and received an experimental vaccine in a clinical trial there. He returned as a Yankees broadcaster in May 2007 and broadcast some games during the '08 season. He died of brain cancer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on July 12, 2008.

Mando Ramos (59) boxer who enjoyed a meteoric career in the ring, winning the lightweight title at 20, then spent his later years helping kids to avoid the twin demons of drugs and alcohol that had cut short his career. Ramos checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic in the early '80s and stayed sober for the rest of his life, starting the Boxing Against Alcohol & Drugs program for kids. He suffered from a chronic back injury and diabetes and died in San Pedro, California on July 6, 2008.

Mike Souchak (81) former PGA Tour golf pro and Duke Sports Hall of Fame member. Souchak won 15 events on the PGA Tour (1955-66) and had 11 top-10 finishes in major championships. He finished third at the US Open (1959-60) and played on the winning US Ryder Cup teams (1959, '61). He set a tour record for four-round low score at the 1955 Texas Open, opening with a 60 and finishing at 257. That record stood until Mark Calcavecchia's 256 at the 2001 Phoenix Open. At Duke, Souchak lettered three seasons in football and four in golf. He died in Belleair, Florida on July 10, 2008.