Obituary Stories category, Page 25
Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts dies at age 80
Charlie Watts, the self-effacing and unshakeable Rolling Stones drummer who helped anchor one of rock’s greatest rhythms sections and used his “day job” to support his enduring love of jazz, has died, according to his publicist. He was 80. Bernard Doherty said Tuesday that Watts “passed away peacefully in a...
Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith dies
Nanci Griffith, the Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter from Texas whose literary songs like “Love at the Five and Dime” celebrated the South, has died. She was 68. Her management company, Gold Mountain Entertainment, said Griffith died Friday but did not provide a cause of death. “It was Nanci’s wish that no...
Markie Post, TV veteran actor of ‘Night Court,’ dies at 70
Markie Post, who played the public defender in the 1980s sitcom “Night Court” and was a regular presence on television for four decades, has died. She was 70. Post’s manager, Ellen Lubin Sanitsky, said Post died Saturday in Los Angeles after a years-long battle with cancer. Post was a longtime...
Kool & the Gang co-founder Dennis Thomas dead at age 70
Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, a founding member of the long-running soul-funk band Kool & the Gang known for such hits as “Celebration” and “Get Down On It,” has died. He was 70. He died peacefully in his sleep Saturday in New Jersey, where he was a resident of Montclair, according...
Ron Popeil, inventor and king of TV pitchmen, dies at 86
LOS ANGELES — Ron Popeil, the quintessential TV pitchman and inventor known to generations of viewers for hawking products including the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, Mr. Microphone and the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ, has died, his family said. Popeil died “suddenly and peacefully” Wednesday at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in...
ZZ Top: Bearded bassist Dusty Hill dies in his sleep at 72
HOUSTON — ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill, one of the Texas blues rock trio’s bearded figures, died at his Houston home, the band announced Wednesday. He was 72. In their Facebook post, guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard said Hill died in his sleep. They didn’t give a cause...
1960s civil rights activist Robert Moses dies at 86
Robert Parris Moses, a civil rights activist who was shot at and endured beatings and jail while leading Black voter registration drives in the American South during the 1960s and later helped improve minority education in math, has died. He was 86. Moses, who was widely referred to as Bob,...
Entrepreneur, philanthropist John G. Rangos Sr. dies just before 92nd birthday
Entrepreneur and philanthropist John G. Rangos Sr. died Wednesday, one week shy of his 92nd birthday. Rangos died following a brief illness, according to a news release from the John G. Rangos Sr. Charitable Foundation. The release said he died surrounded by his children — John Rangos Jr., Alex Rangos...
‘Kansas’ rock violinist, singer Robby Steinhardt, dies at 71
Robert E. “Robby” Steinhardt, a violinist and vocalist with the progressive rock band Kansas, has died due to complications from pancreatitis. He was 71. His wife, Cindy Steinhardt, said he died Saturday at a hospital in Tampa, Florida. She announced on Facebook Monday that he had just recorded his first...
Ricki Wertz, star of WTAE-TV’s ‘Ricki and Copper,’ diesVideo
Ricki Wertz, one of the original stars of Pittsburgh TV as the host of WTAE-TV’s “Ricki and Copper” and “Junior High Quiz,” died Wednesday in Chicago. She was 86. The cause of death was not immediately available. A Wilkes-Barre native, Ruth Elizabeth Wertz Bordenkircher came to Pittsburgh to study acting....
Former wrestling superstar Paul Orndorff aka ‘Mr. Wonderful’ dead at 71
Former World Wrestling Federation favorite Paul Orndorff, who gained fame with fans as Mr. Wonderful in the 1980s, has died at age 71. His death was confirmed via Instagram on Monday by his son Travis, who has documented his father’s recent health struggles. “It is with great sadness that I...
Former Steelers DB Dicky Maegle dies
HOUSTON — Dicky Maegle, the Rice running back tackled in the 1954 Cotton Bowl by an Alabama player who came off the bench in one of the most legendary plays in college football history, has died. Rice University and the National Football Foundation said Tuesday that Maegle passed away Sunday....
Henry Parham, member of only all-Black unit in D-Day invasion, dies at 99
On a hot and steamy July day two years ago, Henry Parham sat in his Wilkinsburg home with his wife, Ethel by his side and relived the horror of the D-Day invasion. Though the invasion had happened some 75 years before, the look in Parham’s eyes made it seem like...
`Superman,’ `Lethal Weapon’ director Richard Donner dies
Filmmaker Richard Donner, who helped create the modern superhero blockbuster with 1978’s “Superman” and mastered the buddy comedy with the “Lethal Weapon” franchise, has died. He was 91. Lauren Shuler Donner, his wife and producing partner, told the Hollywood trade Deadline that Donner died Monday. Donner gained fame with his...
Frank Bonner, Herb on ‘WKRP in Cincinnati,’ dies at 79Video
LOS ANGELES — Frank Bonner, who played a brash salesman with an affection for polyester plaid suits on the TV comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” has died. He was 79. Bonner died Wednesday from complications of Lewy body dementia, said his daughter, Desiree Boers-Kort. The actor died at his home in...
North Hills girls soccer coach dies
The North Hills athletic community took a hit with the announcement of the sudden death of soccer coach Rick Kabbert. The 52-year old Kabbert coached the Indians high school girls team last fall after two years with the North Hills Middle School boys program. “Rick was dedicated, committed and passionate...
Ned Beatty, indelible in ‘Deliverance,’ ‘Network’ dies at 83Video
NEW YORK — Ned Beatty, the Oscar-nominated character actor who in half a century of American movies, including “Deliverance,” “Network” and “Superman,” was a booming, indelible presence in even the smallest parts, has died. He was 83. Beatty’s manager, Deborah Miller, said Beatty died Sunday of natural causes at his...
Clarence Williams III, ‘The Mod Squad’s’ Linc, dies at 81
Clarence Williams III, who played the cool undercover cop Linc Hayes on the counterculture series “The Mod Squad” and Prince’s father in “Purple Rain,” has died. He was 81. Williams died Friday at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with colon cancer, his manager Allan Mindel said Sunday....
Celebrity attorney F. Lee Bailey dead at 87
WALTHAM, Mass. — F. Lee Bailey, the celebrity attorney who defended O.J. Simpson, Patricia Hearst and the alleged Boston Strangler, but whose legal career halted when he was disbarred in two states, has died, a former colleague said Thursday. He was 87. The death was confirmed Thursday by Peter Horstmann,...
‘Hooked on a Feeling’ singer B.J. Thomas dies at 78
B.J. Thomas, the Grammy-winning singer who enjoyed success on the pop, country and gospel charts with such hits as “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” and “Hooked on a Feeling,” has died. He was 78. Thomas, who announced in March that he had been diagnosed...
Gavin MacLeod, ‘Love Boat’ captain, dies at 90
LOS ANGELES — Gavin MacLeod, the veteran supporting actor who achieved stardom as Murray Slaughter, the sardonic TV news writer on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” before going on to even bigger fame as the cheerful Capt. Stubing on “The Love Boat,” has died. He was 90. MacLeod died early...
‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ author Eric Carle dies at 91
NEW YORK — Eric Carle, the beloved children’s author and illustrator whose classic “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and other works gave millions of kids some of their earliest and most cherished literary memories, has died at age 91. Carle’s family says he died Sunday at his summer studio in Northampton,...
Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen Zappala Sr. remembered for distinguished public service
Former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen A. Zappala Sr. was remembered for his distinguished legal career and public service. Zappala, a Collier resident, died Friday. He was 88. Zappala went from a private law practice to Allegheny County planning development director to county solicitor, an Allegheny County judge in...
Pioneering comic Paul Mooney, a writer for Richard Pryor, dies at 79Video
NEW YORK — Paul Mooney, the boundary-pushing comedian who was Richard Pryor’s longtime writing partner and whose bold, incisive musings on racism and American life made him a revered figure in stand-up, has died. He was 79. Cassandra Williams, Mooney’s publicist, said he died Wednesday morning at his home in...
Charles Grodin, Pittsburgh native and star of ‘Midnight Run,’ dies at 86
Charles Grodin, the Pittsburgh-born actor and writer whose offbeat style scored as a newlywed cad in “The Heartbreak Kid” and the father in the “Beethoven” comedies, has died. He was 86. Grodin’s son Nicholas said his father died Tuesday at his home in Wilton, Conn., from bone marrow cancer. Grodin...
