obituary

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Tom Stoppard's Works Displayed Intellect, Wit
Tom Stoppard's Works
Displayed Intellect, Wit
obituary
Nov 29, 2025 4:35 PM CST

Tom Stoppard's Works Displayed Intellect, Wit

Playwright won 5 Tonys, plus an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love

(Newser) - Tom Stoppard, a playwright who won five Tony Awards and an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love while mixing clever wordplay with philosophic depth, has died. He was 88. Stoppard died at his home in Dorset, England, his agents announced, per the Hollywood Reporter . They called him a writer with "...

Jokes Made Golfer Popular, but One Required 'Countless' Apologies

Fuzzy Zoeller captured the Masters in his tournament debut

(Newser) - Fuzzy Zoeller, a two-time major winner who brought a relaxed attitude to the PGA tour, has died. He was 74. Zoeller built a reputation as one of golf's most approachable personalities, with a quick wit that made him a fan favorite, Golf Digest reports. He turned professional in 1973,...

Robert A.M. Stern Designed Towers, Taught Architecture
Architect Designed
Towers, Bush Center
obituary
Nov 27, 2025 4:10 PM CST

Architect Designed Towers, Bush Center

Robert AM Stern said 15 Central Park West was his breakthrough

(Newser) - Robert AM Stern, a leading figure in American architecture and education, died Thursday. He was 86. His son said Stern died at his Manhattan home after a brief pulmonary illness, the Washington Post reports. In a career spanning six decades, Stern led the Yale School of Architecture from 1998 to...

Self-Taught Designer Was 'Worthy of a Couture House'

Fashion designer Pam Hogg, who reinvented the catsuit, dies in hospice

(Newser) - Pam Hogg, the self-taught designer widely credited with shaping Britain's countercultural fashion scene since the early 1980s, has died, her family announced Wednesday on Instagram . Hogg, who did not publicly reveal her age, was believed to be in her 60s, per the BBC . The statement said she died peacefully,...

Jackson Browne Mourns Death of His Son at 52
Jackson Browne's
Son Dies at 52
Nov 27, 2025 2:00 AM CST

Jackson Browne's Son Dies at 52

Family says Ethan Browne was found unresponsive at home

(Newser) - Jackson Browne is mourning the death of his son Ethan Browne, who died at age 52 Tuesday, People reports. The singer-songwriter, 77, announced his son's death in a brief statement on Facebook, saying Ethan was found unresponsive at home in the morning and asking for privacy amid the family'...

He Saw Arcade Boxing Game, Came Up With a Home Version

Burt Meyer, who helped invent Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and Lite-Brite, dies at 99

(Newser) - Burt Meyer, the inventive mind behind some of America's most iconic toys, has died at the age of 99. A rep for the King-Bruwaert House retirement community in Burr Ridge, Illinois, where Meyer resided, says he died on Oct. 30, reports the AP . His son Steve also confirmed his...

Richard Branson's Wife Dies at 80
Richard Branson's
Wife Dies at 80
OBITUARY
Nov 25, 2025 8:16 PM CST

Richard Branson's Wife Dies at 80

Joan 'was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world,' British billionaire says

(Newser) - Joan Branson, the wife of British billionaire Richard Branson, has died at age 80. Branson announced her death Tuesday on Instagram and LinkedIn. No other details were disclosed. "Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away," he said. "She was...

Tulsa Race Massacre's Eldest Survivor Dies at 111
Viola Fletcher Survived
Tulsa Race Massacre
obituary
Nov 24, 2025 7:45 PM CST

Viola Fletcher Survived Tulsa Race Massacre

As a 7-year-old, 'Black Wall Street' resident saw horrors she said she could never forget

(Newser) - Viola Fletcher, who witnessed the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre as a child and was its eldest known survivor, has died. She was 111. In announcing her death Monday, Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said, "Mother Fletcher endured more than anyone should, yet she spent her life lighting a path forward...

He Was the King of Reggae Before Bob Marley
Reggae Pioneer Who
Rivaled Bob Marley Dies
OBITUARY
Nov 24, 2025 7:47 AM CST

Reggae Pioneer Who Rivaled Bob Marley Dies

Jimmy Cliff, star of The Harder They Come , dies at 81

(Newser) - Jimmy Cliff, the charismatic reggae pioneer and actor who preached joy, defiance, and resilience in such classics as "Many Rivers to Cross," "You Can Get it If You Really Want" and "Vietnam" and starred in the landmark movie The Harder They Come, has died at 81....

Pioneering Slow Food Chef Skye Gyngell Dies at 62
Pioneering
Slow Food Chef
Skye Gyngell
Dies at 62
OBITUARY
Nov 24, 2025 5:40 AM CST

Pioneering Slow Food Chef Skye Gyngell Dies at 62

Australian chef built Michelin-star restaurant, inspired chefs worldwide

(Newser) - Skye Gyngell, the influential chef who championed the slow food movement and built a Michelin-starred restaurant in a London garden, has died at the age of 62, the Guardian reports. Gyngell, originally from Sydney, was celebrated for her dedication to local and seasonal ingredients, most notably at the acclaimed Petersham...

Teen Sailor Was on Duty When Pearl Harbor Attack Began

Ivan Atkins, 102, survived attack aboard USS West Virginia with 2 of his brothers

(Newser) - One of the last survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has died. Ivan W. Atkins Jr. died at age 102 on Oct. 27. Atkins, who grew up on a farm in Indiana, was just 18 when he and two of his brothers were aboard the USS West Virginia...

Robert Stirm, Who Didn't Display Iconic Photo of His Return, Dies

POW was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967

(Newser) - It's the ultimate homecoming photo—a smiling family rushing to reunite with a US Air Force officer in 1973 who had spent years as a POW in North Vietnam, his eldest daughter sprinting ahead with her arms outstretched, both feet off the ground. "Burst of Joy," the...

Star Dancers Leave the World as They Arrived—Together
They Were Born, Danced,
and Died Together
OBITUARY
Nov 18, 2025 1:06 PM CST

They Were Born, Danced, and Died Together

Kessler twins die at 89 in what authorities say was a 'joint suicide'

(Newser) - Alice and Ellen Kessler, twin dancers and singers who launched their career in the 1950s and performed with Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, and Harry Belafonte among others, have died at age 89, police in Germany said Tuesday, per the AP . The death of the twins in Grünwald, a prosperous...

A Renowned Advocate for Disabled Americans Has Died

Writer Alice Wong was 51

(Newser) - Alice Wong, a disability rights activist and author whose independence and writing inspired others, died Friday in a San Francisco hospital at age 51, per the AP . Wong—who was born with muscular dystrophy and used a powered wheelchair and an assistive breathing device—died of an infection, said Sandy...

Todd Snider Dies at 59, Weeks After Reported Assault

Singer-songwriter helped shape alt-country, Americana music

(Newser) - Todd Snider, an Americana singer known for witty storytelling, has died. He was 59. Snider's death was announced Friday on his official social media accounts, which said he'd been diagnosed with a case of walking pneumonia after being injured in an assault in Utah earlier this month, the...

Co-Pilot in DB Cooper Hijacking Dies at 86
Co-Pilot in DB Cooper
Hijacking Dies at 86
OBITUARY
Nov 13, 2025 8:34 AM CST

Co-Pilot in DB Cooper Hijacking Dies at 86

William Rataczak flew 35K hours, with several of those now cemented in crime lore

(Newser) - William Rataczak, who served as co-pilot on the infamous 1971 flight hijacked by the mysterious DB Cooper, has died. Rataczak, a former Air Force pilot and Northwest Orient Airlines employee, passed away of pneumonia at an assisted living center in Minnesota on Oct. 22 at the age of 86, his...

Oscar-Nominated Actor Worked With Streisand, Newman, Redford

Sally Kirkland, who vied for Academy Award for her role in 1987's Anna , is dead at 84

(Newser) - Sally Kirkland, a one-time model who became a regular on stage, film, and TV, best known for sharing the screen with Paul Newman and Robert Redford in The Sting and her Oscar-nominated title role in the 1987 movie Anna, has died. She was 84, reports the AP . Her representative, Michael...

Kent State Survivor in Iconic Photo Dies at 74

He was featured on the cover of Life magazine

(Newser) - John Cleary, one of the nine students wounded in the infamous 1970 Kent State shooting in which four others were killed, has died at his home near Pittsburgh at age 74, the New York Times reports. Cleary, who had been battling pancreatic cancer since 2019, was a 19-year-old architecture freshman...

Paul Tagliabue's NFL Prospered but Played Down Concussions

Commissioner oversaw expansion and instituted the 'Rooney Rule'

(Newser) - Paul Tagliabue, who helped bring labor peace and riches to the NFL during his 17 years as commissioner but was criticized for not taking stronger action on concussions, died Sunday. He was 84 and died in Chevy Chase, Maryland, of heart failure, the AP reports. Tagliabue followed Pete Rozelle as...

James Watson, DNA Pioneer and Nobel Prize Winner, Dies

Co-discoverer of double helix structure led genome project but was shunned over views on race, gender

(Newser) - James Watson, who helped discover the double-helix structure of DNA that's the blueprint for human life, has died. He was 97 and died Thursday in hospice care in East Northport, New York, the New York Times reports. Watson was 25 years old when he and Francis Crick published their...

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