obituary news stories on Newser

Inventor of First TV Remote Dead

Tue, 22 May 2012 15:20:05 CDT

Couch potatoes everywhere can pause and thank Eugene Polley for hours of feet-up channel surfing. His invention, the first wireless TV remote, began as a luxury, but with the introduction of hundreds of channels and viewing technologies it has become a necessity. Polley died of natural causes at a suburban...

World's 'Finest' Interpreter of Art Songs Dead at 86

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:32:05 CDT

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, perhaps the greatest singer of art songs in the 20 th century, died yesterday at home in Bavaria, the New York Times reports. He was 86. The German son of a classical scholar and a schoolteacher, Fischer-Dieskau (pronounced FEE-sher DEES-cow) studied voice in Berlin and got two years...

'Godfather of Go-Go' Chuck Brown Dead at 75

John Johnson — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:46:56 CDT

Chuck Brown, who created the "go-go" genre of funk in DC in the 1970s and remained a mainstay of black Washington's culture ever since, has died at age 75, reports the Washington Post . A snippet from the paper's obituary, by Chris Richards: "Like a DJ blending records, Mr. Brown used...

Mexican Novelist Carlos Fuentes Dead at 83

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:56:54 CDT

Author Carlos Fuentes, who played a dominant role in Latin America's novel-writing boom by delving into the failed ideals of the Mexican revolution, died today in a Mexico City hospital at age 83. Mexico's National Council for Culture for the Arts confirmed the death of Mexico's most celebrated novelist. The...

Booker T and MGs Bassist Dunn Dies

Sun, 13 May 2012 05:40:29 CDT

Bass player and songwriter Donald "Duck" Dunn, a member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame band Booker T. and the MGs and the Blues Brothers band, has died in Tokyo. He was 70. Dunn was in Tokyo for a series of shows. News of his death was posted...

Stylist Vidal Sassoon Dead

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:58:26 CDT

Hairstylist Vidal Sassoon, who undid the beehive with his wash-and-wear cuts and went on to become an international name in hair care, died today of natural causes at his Los Angeles home at age 84, police said. When Sassoon picked up his shears in the 1950s, styled hair was typically...

Wild Things Author Maurice Sendak Dead at 83

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 08 May 2012 07:41:51 CDT

Maurice Sendak, author/illustrator of the beloved Where the Wild Things Are, has died at age 83, reports the New York Times . The cause was complications from a recent stroke, says his editor. The Times offers a glowing profile of Sendak and the many books he was known for penning and...

Poker Legend Amarillo Slim Dead at 83

Matt Cantor — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:08:00 CDT

Amarillo Slim, a poker Hall of Famer who was instrumental in bringing the game into the national limelight, died Sunday at 83 of colon cancer, his son tells the Los Angeles Times . Slim, born Thomas Austin Preston, Jr., "brought poker out of the back alleys," says a historian of the...

'Hatchet Man' Chuck Colson Dead at 80

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:04:03 CDT

Notorious political "hatchet man" and prison reform advocate Chuck Colson has died at age 80 outside of Washington, DC. Renowned as a "dirty tricks artist" for President Nixon, Colson underwent a religious conversion in 1973 when facing charges for his role in discrediting Pentagon whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. After 7 months...