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☆ Paul Auster, Prolific Author and Brooklyn Literary Star, Dies at 77
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Paul Auster, the prolific novelist, memoirist and screenwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s with his postmodern reanimation of the noir novel and who endured to become one of the signature New York writers of his generation, died of complications from lung cancer at his home in Brooklyn on Tuesday evening. His death was confirmed by a friend, Jacki Lyden. With his hooded eyes, soulful air and leading-man looks, Mr. Auster was often described as a “literary superstar” in news accounts. The Times Literary Supplement of Britain once called him “one of America’s most spectacularly inventive writers.”Though a New Jersey native, he became indelibly linked with the rhythms of his adopted city, which was a character of sorts in much of his work — particularly Brooklyn, where he settled in 1980 amid the oak-lined streets of brownstones in the Park Slope neighborhood. As his reputation grew, Mr. Auster came to be seen as a guardian of Brooklyn’s rich literary past, as well as an inspiration to a new generation of novelists who flocked to the borough in the 1990s and later.

Persons: Paul Auster, memoirist, Jacki, Auster, ” Locations: York, Brooklyn, New Jersey, brownstones

☆ Dickey Betts, Fiery Guitarist With Allman Brothers Band, Dies at 80
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dickey Betts, a honky-tonk hell raiser who, as a guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band, traded fiery licks with Duane Allman in the band’s early-1970s heyday, and who went on to write some of the band’s most indelible songs, including its biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man,” died on Thursday morning at his home in Osprey, Fla. His death was announced on social media by his family. Mr. Betts’s manager David Spero said in a statement to Rolling Stone magazine that the cause was cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Despite not being an actual Allman brother — the band was led by Duane Allman, who achieved guitar-god status before he died in a motorcycle accident in 1971, and Gregg Allman, the lead vocalist, who got an added flash of the limelight in 1975 when he married Cher — Mr. Betts was a guiding force in the group for decades and central to a sound that, along with the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd, came to define Southern rock. Although pigeonholed by some fans in the band’s early days as its “other” guitarist, Mr. Betts, whose solos on his Gibson Les Paul guitar seemed at times to scorch the fret board, proved a worthy sparring partner to Duane Allman, serving as a co-lead guitarist more than a sidekick.

Persons: Dickey Betts, Allman, Duane Allman, ”, David Spero, —, Gregg Allman, Cher — Mr, Betts, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gibson Les Paul Organizations: Stone Locations: Fla, Southern

☆ Ushio Amagatsu, Japanese Dancer Who Popularized Butoh, Dies at 74
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ushio Amagatsu, an acclaimed dancer and choreographer who brought worldwide visibility to Butoh, a hauntingly minimalist Japanese form of dance theater that arose in the wake of wartime devastation, died on March 25 in Odawara, Japan. The cause of his death, in a hospital, was heart failure, said Semimaru, a founding member of Mr. Amagatsu's celebrated contemporary dance company, Sankai Juku. Butoh is an Anglicized version of “buto,” derived from “ankoku buto,” which translates to “dance of darkness.” It draws inspiration from surrealist European art movements like Dadaism.

Persons: Ushio Amagatsu, Semimaru, Amagatsu's, ankoku Locations: Odawara, Japan, Juku

☆ Lorraine Graves, Pioneering Harlem Ballerina, Dies at 66
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lorraine Graves, a ballerina known for her willowy frame and majestic grace who starred as a principal dancer for the groundbreaking Dance Theater of Harlem for nearly two decades, died on March 21 in Norfolk, Va. She was 66. Her nephew Jason Graves said the cause of her death, in a hospital, was yet to be determined. For a female dancer, “five foot four, five foot six is considered tall,” Virginia Johnson, a former principal dancer and artistic director for the Dance Theater of Harlem, said in an interview. “Because once you get on pointe, you’re adding another six inches to your height, and so having a partner who’s tall enough to partner you is an issue.”Fortunately, the company had plenty of tall male dancers. That allowed Ms. Graves an opportunity to leverage her unique physicality, which over the course of her career she showed off in performances around the world, including before world leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev and Nelson Mandela.

Persons: Lorraine Graves, Jason Graves, Graves, Virginia Johnson, ”, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela Organizations: of Harlem, Dance Theater of Harlem Locations: Norfolk, Va

☆ Kate Banks, Children’s Author Who Wrote About Grief, Dies at 64
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Kate Banks, who, despite personal tragedy and debilitating illness, became an award-winning author of children’s books and young-adult novels that captured the wonder of youth while also confronting fear and grief, died on Feb. 24 in Basel, Switzerland. She was 64. The cause was medically assisted death, following a Stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer diagnosis in 2022, her sister Amy Banks said. Ms. Banks had mast cell activation syndrome, a disorder of the immune system, and had been unable to undergo standard cancer treatments or take most medications, including those for pain. Despite the ailment, which she had suffered for decades, and the lingering trauma from the murder of her father when she was in college, Ms. Banks was prolific, publishing more than 50 books since the late 1980s.

Persons: Kate Banks, Amy Banks, Banks Locations: Basel, Switzerland

☆ John Walker, Tech Executive Who Popularized AutoCAD, Dies at 74
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

John Walker, a groundbreaking, if reclusive, technology entrepreneur and polymath who was a founder and chief executive of Autodesk, the company that brought the ubiquitous AutoCAD software program to the design and architecture masses, died on Feb. 2 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. His death, in a hospital, was caused by complications of head injuries he suffered in a fall at home, his wife, Roxie Walker, said. His death was not widely reported at the time. Mr. Walker was well known in tech circles, not just for his triumphs in business but also for his outsize skills as a programmer — he was credited with developing an early prototype of the computer virus — and as a voluble writer who filled his personal site, Fourmilab, with free-ranging musings on topics as diverse as cryptography, nanotechnology and consciousness studies. Although he had little taste for publicity, he became a prominent tech mogul of the 1980s and early ’90s as a founder of Autodesk Inc., once described as “a theocracy of hackers,” which grew to become the sixth-largest personal computer software company in the world.

Persons: John Walker, Roxie Walker, Walker, — Organizations: Autodesk, Autodesk Inc Locations: Neuchâtel, Switzerland

☆ Henry Rono, Record-Breaking Distance Runner From Kenya, Dies at 72
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Henry Rono, a Kenyan distance runner who was unable to walk until he was 6 after a gruesome injury to his right leg when he was a toddler but went on to break four world records in just 81 days in 1978, died on Thursday in Nairobi. His death was announced by Athletics Kenya, an amateur athletic association. He died in a hospital, where he had spent 10 days with an unspecified illness. Rono was twice denied shots at Olympic glory in his 20s, when Kenya joined boycotts of the Games in 1976 and 1980. Even so, he was celebrated as one of the country’s great athletes.

Persons: Henry Rono, Rono Organizations: Athletics Kenya, Games, Washington State University Locations: Kenyan, Nairobi, Kenya

☆ Bob Moore, Who Founded Bob’s Red Mill, Is Dead at 94
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bob Moore, the grandfatherly entrepreneur who, with his wife, Charlee, leveraged an image of organic heartiness and wholesome Americana to turn the artisanal grain company Bob’s Red Mill into a $100 million dollar-a-year business, died on Saturday at his home in Milwaukie, Ore. His death was announced by the company, which did not cite a cause. Founded in Milwaukie in 1978, Bob’s Red Mill grew from serving the Portland area to become a global natural-foods behemoth, marketing more than 200 products in more than 70 countries. Over the years, the company profited handsomely from the nutrition-minded shift away from processed foods and grains. “I think our diets, nationally, and international probably, show the fact that we just have allowed ourselves to be sold a bill of goods.”

Persons: Bob Moore, Mr, Moore Organizations: Oregon State University Locations: Milwaukie, Portland

☆ Bill Hayes, Enduring Soap Star With a ‘Davy Crockett’ Hit, Is Dead at 98
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Bill Hayes, an actor and singer whose 2,141 episodes of “Days of Our Lives” over five and a half decades constituted the daytime drama version of an ultramarathon, and whose top-selling 1955 single, “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” remains seared into the memories of the baby boom generation, died on Jan. 12 at his home in Studio City, Calif. His wife and longtime co-star, Susan Seaforth Hayes, confirmed his death. To soap opera fans, Mr. Hayes was a staple of weekday afternoons from the days of rabbit-ear antennas into the streaming era. He began his tenure on the long-running NBC show in 1970. His character, Doug Williams, was a suave and slippery con artist who, after leaving prison, found himself padding through the maze of the plot twists, double-crosses and big reveals that day after day drew viewers back to the fictional Midwestern town of Salem.

Persons: Bill Hayes, Davy Crockett, Susan Seaforth Hayes, Hayes, Doug Williams Organizations: NBC Locations: ”, Studio City, Calif, Salem

☆ Tanya Berezin, Behind-the-Scenes Off Broadway Force, Dies at 82
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

By the mid-1980s, Tanya Berezin had gone far as a New York stage actress. “It just feels really uncomfortable and childish.”Her budding career crisis turned out to be an opportunity. In 1986, Ms. Berezin turned her attention from the stage to a highly influential behind-the-scenes role in the theater world: artistic director of the Circle Repertory Company, a storied Off Broadway incubator of talent that she had helped found in 1969. Ms. Berezin died on Nov. 29 at the home of her daughter, Lila Thirkield, in San Francisco. Ms. Thirkield said the cause of her death, which was not widely reported at the time, was lung cancer.

Persons: Tanya Berezin, Lanford, ”, Berezin, Lila Thirkield, Thirkield Organizations: Circle Repertory Locations: New York, San Francisco

☆ Phill Niblock, Dedicated Avant-Gardist of Music and Film, Dies at 90
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His partner, Katherine Liberovskaya, said he died in a hospital of heart failure after years of cardiac procedures. Mr. Niblock had no formal musical training. He served as the foundation’s sole director from 1985 until his death, and he was also the curator of the foundation’s record label, XI. His loft on Centre Street in Lower Manhattan served as a performance space for the foundation. It was also a social nexus for boundary-pushing musicians and composers like John Cage, Arthur Russell, David Behrman and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.

Persons: Phill Niblock, Katherine Liberovskaya, Niblock, Elaine Summers, John Cage, Arthur Russell, David Behrman, Thurston Moore Organizations: Sonic Youth Locations: New York, Manhattan, Lower Manhattan

☆ Tim Rogers, Hairstylist to the Stars and Moguls, Dies at 51
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tim Rogers, a sought-after New York hairstylist who fashioned gold-standard looks for a long list of notables, including Adele, Yoko Ono and Roger Federer, and commanded gold-standard prices to match, died on Nov. 3 at his home in Gaylordsville, Conn. His father, Ian Rogers, said the death came after a brief illness, which he did not specify. He worked with the renowned hairstylist Garren at his salon at the Henri Bendel department store on Fifth Avenue, and at the Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger salon on the Upper East Side, before partnering with Ms. Hershberger, another high-profile hairstylist, at a salon on West 26th Street in Manhattan in 2016. “Tim was able to sit with clients and determine exactly what would work best for their style,” Ms. Hershberger wrote in an email. “His overall style was very polished and classic and stylish, with a bit of playfulness — a prototypical British hairstylist, which was unique in New York.”Mr. Rogers became a fixture in the fashion world.

Persons: Tim Rogers, New York hairstylist, Adele, Yoko Ono, Roger Federer, Ian Rogers, Rogers, Garren, Henri Bendel, Sharon Dorram, Sally Hershberger, Hershberger, “ Tim, Ms, “, ” Mr, Annie Leibovitz, Norman Jean Roy, Patrick Demarchelier, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Diane Sawyer, Carey Mulligan, Mary, Kate, Ashley Olsen Organizations: New York, Vogue Locations: New, Gaylordsville, Conn, Britain, New York, Manhattan, British

☆ Domenico Spano Dies at 79; Clothier of Stars Found Fame of His Own
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Domenico Spano, a New York custom clothier who outfitted captains of industry and Hollywood stars, and whose own dandyish style made him a highly recognizable peacock on the streets of the city as well as in newspaper fashion pages, died on Oct. 23 in Manhattan. His daughter Elisabeth Spano said he died in a hospital of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Mr. Spano, who went by the nickname Mimmo, was born in the Calabria region of southern Italy. But although he grew up in a country known for its illustrious fashion history, he made his name in New York as a champion of classic American style, as epitomized by the timeless elegance of silver-screen legends like Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Cary Grant and Gary Cooper. With his own head-turning outfits, rendered in colorful patterns and bold prints and complete with felt fedoras, paisley scarfs, suspenders, bow ties and an ever-present carnation in his lapel, he would become a fixture in street-style columns like The New York Times’s “On the Street,” written and shot by his friend, the photographer and fashion-world institution Bill Cunningham.

Persons: Domenico Spano, Elisabeth Spano, Spano, Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, fedoras, paisley scarfs, Bill Cunningham Organizations: Hollywood Locations: New York, Manhattan, Calabria, Italy, York

☆ Burt Young, ‘Rocky’ Actor Who Played Complex Tough Guys, Dies at 83
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Burt Young, a burly Queens-bred actor who leveraged a weary gravitas and bare-knuckled demeanor to build a prolific career as a Hollywood tough guy in films like “Chinatown,” “Once Upon a Time in America” and, most notably, “Rocky,” for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles. With his bulldog build and his doleful countenance, Mr. Young amassed more than 160 film and television credits. He often played a mob boss, a street-smart detective or a bedraggled working man. But even when he played a villain, he was no mere heavy. Despite his background as a Marine and a professional boxer, Mr. Young brought layers of complexity to his work.

Persons: Burt Young, “, Anne Morea Steingieser, Young, . Young, Lee Strasberg, Sam Peckinpah, James Caan, Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw Organizations: “ Convoy Locations: Queens, Hollywood, America, Los Angeles

☆ Terry Kirkman, Whose Band Was a Late-1960s Hit Machine, Dies at 83
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His wife, Heidi Kirkman, said the cause was congestive heart failure. A gifted musician who could play up to two dozen instruments, Mr. Kirkman and Jules Alexander, a guitarist and songwriter, formed the six-member Association in 1965. With a folk-inflected sound that was both sunny and sophisticated, the Association proved a veritable AM radio hit factory in its late-1960s heyday. The band’s debut album, “And Then … Along Comes the Association,” released in 1966, spawned two signature hits of the era: “Along Comes Mary,” which hit No. The group's third album, “Insight Out,” released the next year, included two more Top 10 hits: “Never My Love” and “Windy,” the group's second No.

Persons: Terry Kirkman, ”, Heidi Kirkman, Kirkman, Jules Alexander Organizations: Association Locations: Montclair , Calif

☆ Bobby Schiffman, Guiding Force of the Apollo Theater, Dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bobby Schiffman, who guided the Apollo Theater in Harlem through the seismic cultural and musical changes of the 1960s and early ’70s, cementing its place as a world-renowned showcase for Black music and entertainment, died on Sept. 6 at his home in Boynton Beach, Fla. In 1961, Mr. Schiffman inherited the reins of the storied neoclassical Apollo Theater on West 125th Street in Manhattan from his father, Frank Schiffman. The elder Mr. Schiffman, along with a financial partner, Leo Brecher, had taken over the theater — a former burlesque house that opened in 1914 as a whites-only establishment — in 1935. During the 1930s and ’40s, the elder Mr. Schiffman provided early exposure to countless African American luminaries, including Count Basie, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington. “In Harlem show business circles he was God — a five-foot-nine-inch, white, Jewish, balding, bespectacled deity,” the music writer Ted Fox observed in his 1983 book, “Showtime at the Apollo.”

Persons: Bobby Schiffman, Howard, Schiffman, Frank Schiffman, Leo Brecher, Al Jolson, Marx, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, —, Ted Fox, “, ” Organizations: Apollo, “ Showtime Locations: Harlem, Boynton Beach, Fla, Manhattan

☆ Marc Bohan, Head Designer for Dior for Three Decades, Dies at 97
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His death was confirmed in a statement by Dior. Because he worked in an era before fashion became mass entertainment, Mr. Bohan was not required to be visionary. “I’m not designing to please myself or for a photograph,” he told USA Today for a 1988 profile. I have always in mind the reaction of women I know.”Courtly, taciturn and immaculately dapper even by the standards of midcentury Paris, Mr. Bohan was 34 when he was appointed head couturier for the House of Dior in 1960, taking over for the maverick Yves Saint Laurent. Mr. Saint Laurent, then in his early 20s, had been called up by the French Army during the Algerian war for independence.

Persons: Marc Bohan, Christian Dior, Dior, Bohan, “, ”, immaculately, couturier, Yves Saint Laurent, Mr, Saint Laurent Organizations: USA, of Dior, French Army Locations: Châtillon, Seine, France, Paris

☆ Gary Wright, Who Had a ’70s Hit With ‘Dream Weaver,’ Dies at 80
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Gary Malcolm Wright was born on April 26, 1943, in Cresskill, in northeast New Jersey, the middle of three children of Lou Wright, a structural engineer, and Anne (Belvedere) Wright. His mother helped instill in him an interest in music and acting, driving him to piano lessons and eventually to auditions. “I originally came into the play as an understudy to the main role, and then I picked up the main child role,” Mr. Wright said in a 2014 interview with Smashing Interviews magazine. While attending Tenafly High School, he played in various rock groups, including a duo called Gary and Billy with his school friend Bill Markle. Their single “Working After School” was played on the TV show “American Bandstand.”After high school, Mr. Wright attended William & Mary in Virginia for a year before transferring to New York University, where he switched his focus to medicine.

Persons: Gary Malcolm Wright, Lou Wright, Wright, Fanny, ”, Florence Henderson, “, ” Mr, Gary, Billy, Bill Markle, William, William & Mary, Chris Blackwell, . Blackwell Organizations: Rangers, Little League baseball, Tenafly High School, William &, New York University, Island Records Locations: Cresskill, New Jersey, Anne, Belvedere, Virginia, Berlin, Europe, Oslo, England

☆ Mark Margolis, Scene Stealer from ‘Breaking Bad,’ Dies at 83
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But no role made him as instantly recognizable to millions of viewers as his Hector in Vince Gilligan’s critically acclaimed AMC series “Breaking Bad,” starring Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn and Giancarlo Esposito, and its prequel, “Better Call Saul,” with Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn. The role, in “Breaking Bad,” brought him an Emmy nomination in 2012 for outstanding guest actor in a dramatic series. His Hector, or Tio, was indelible. Despite his lack of dialogue in “Breaking Bad,” Mr. Margolis proved a scene stealer from his wheelchair, his eyes bulging, his face trembling with rage, despite the nasal cannula pumping oxygen up his nose and his palm furiously banging his bell, taped to an arm of the chair, whenever he needed attention. “I tell people I’m the second-most famous bell ringer after Quasimodo,” he said in a 2016 interview with Vulture, New York magazine’s culture site.

Persons: Hector, Vince Gilligan’s, ”, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Giancarlo Esposito, Saul, Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Walter White, Cranston, ” Mr, Margolis, “, Quasimodo Locations: New Mexico, , New York

☆ Roger Sprung, Banjo Virtuoso of N.Y.C. Folk Scene, Dies at 92
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Roger Sprung, a banjo virtuoso and key figure in New York’s midcentury folk music revival, whose innovative picking and genre-mashing audacity earned him the unofficial title of the godfather of progressive bluegrass, died on July 22 at his home in Newtown, Conn. A New York City native who honed his skills early on by playing mountain music festivals in Virginia and the Carolinas, Mr. In the late 1950s, he played with a folk trio, the Shanty Boys, who recorded for Elektra Records. Sprung was inducted into the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, which cites the Kingston Trio and Béla Fleck as having been influenced by him. Steve Martin, another Hall of Fame member whose banjo prowess was a cornerstone of his early comedy act, has owned a Gibson RB-18 five-string that once belonged to Mr.

Persons: Roger, Nancy, Kay Starr, Jimmy Dean, Béla Fleck, Steve Martin Organizations: York City, Carolinas, Boys, Elektra Records, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame, Kingston Trio, Fame, Gibson Locations: Newtown, Conn, York, Virginia, Greenwich Village, Oklahoma City

☆ Teresa Taylor, Butthole Surfers Drummer and Face of Generation X, Dies at 60
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Teresa Taylor, a drummer for the Texas acid-punk band Butthole Surfers who became an emblem of Generation X aimlessness and anomie with a memorable appearance in Richard Linklater’s 1990 film “Slacker,” died on Sunday. She was 60. Her death was announced on Monday in a Twitter post by the band. The cause was lung disease. Cheryl Curtice, her partner and caregiver, wrote on Facebook that Ms. Taylor “passed away clean and sober, peacefully in her sleep, this weekend.”“She was so brave, even in the face of her horrible disease.”Ms. Taylor, also known as Teresa Nervosa, addressed her long battle with what she called an “end stage” lung condition, which she did not identify, in a 2021 Facebook post.

Persons: Teresa Taylor, Richard Linklater’s, ”, Cheryl Curtice, Taylor “, Ms, Taylor, Teresa Nervosa Organizations: Facebook Locations: Texas

☆ Lisl Steiner, Colorful Creator of Black-and-White Photographs, Dies at 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Lisl Steiner, a flamboyant photojournalist who was celebrated for her intimate, emotive images of history-tilting figures like Fidel Castro, John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as luminaries of music, stage and sports, died on June 7 in Mount Kisco, N.Y. She was 95. Her death, at a hospital, was confirmed by her friends Ingrid Rockefeller and Vivian Winther, who had been collaborating with her on a documentary about her life. Shooting for publications including Newsweek, Time, Life and National Geographic, Ms. Steiner was known for her flamboyant attire, her trademark explosion of fiery red hair, her sassy personality and her uncanny knack for connecting with her subjects, whom she jokingly referred to as “victims.”

Persons: Lisl Steiner, Fidel Castro, John F, Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, Ingrid Rockefeller, Vivian Winther, Steiner, ” Organizations: Newsweek, Geographic Locations: Mount Kisco

☆ Cynthia Weil, Who Put Words to That ‘Lovin’ Feeling,’ Dies at 82
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Cynthia Weil, who with her writing partner and husband, Barry Mann, formed one of the most potent songwriting teams of the 1960s and beyond, churning out enduring hits like the Drifters’ “On Broadway” and the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’,” signature tunes of the baby boomer era, died on Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills, Calif. She was 82. Her death was confirmed on Friday by her daughter Jenn Mann, who did not specify a cause. “We lost the beautiful, brilliant lyricist Cynthia Weil Mann,” the chart-topping singer and songwriter Carole King wrote in a statement posted on social media. Recounting the friendship and rivalry that she and her former husband and songwriting partner, Gerry Goffin, shared with Ms. Weil and Mr. Mann (a friendship memorialized in Broadway’s “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” from 2014), Ms. King added, “The four of us were close, caring friends despite our fierce competition to write the next hit for an artist with a No. 1 song.”Ms. Weil and Mr. Mann, who were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, notched their first hit — “Bless You,” recorded by Tony Orlando — in 1961, two years after the music supposedly died with the Iowa air crash that claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, known as the Big Bopper.

Persons: Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, ’, Jenn Mann, Cynthia Weil Mann, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Weil, Mann, ”, King, Ms, Tony Orlando —, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P, Richardson Organizations: Broadway, Roll Hall of Fame, Iowa Locations: Beverly Hills, Calif

☆ Ian Hacking, Eminent Philosopher of Science and Much Else, Dies at 87
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ian Hacking, a Canadian philosopher widely hailed as a giant of modern thought for game-changing contributions to the philosophies of science, probability and mathematics, as well as his widely circulated insights on issues like race and mental health, died on May 10 at a retirement home in Toronto. His daughter Jane Hacking said the cause was heart failure. In an academic career that included more than two decades as a professor in the philosophy department of the University of Toronto, following appointments at Cambridge and Stanford, Professor Hacking’s intellectual scope seemed to know no bounds. Because of his ability to span multiple academic fields, he was often described as a bridge builder. “Ian Hacking was a one-person interdisciplinary department all by himself,” Cheryl Misak, a philosophy professor at the University of Toronto, said in a phone interview.

☆ Amy Silverstein, Who Chronicled a Life of Three Hearts, Dies at 59
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As her condition deteriorated, Ms. Silverstein rose to the top of the waiting list for a donor heart, which she received at Columbia-Presbyterian hospital in New York. It was only as she recovered from the operation that she began to learn the price of coronary salvation. “With the medicines that she took and the repeated infections, she felt bad at some point virtually every single day,” Mr. Silverstein said in a phone interview. To check for signs of rejection, she had to undergo frequent heart biopsies in which doctors “run a catheter down through your blood vessels and pluck pieces of your heart out,” Mr. Silverstein said. “She had over 90 of them.”After “Sick Girl” was published, Ms. Silverstein received reams of fan letters from other transplant recipients, hailing her for her courage in bringing to light the odd mix of joy and misery that can accompany life with a new organ — what she called the “gratitude paradox.”

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