obituaries

Health & Safety

Global health champion Paul Farmer dies at 62

4:04pm February 21, 2022

by Nurith Aizenman

Dr. Paul Farmer, a global health champion, Harvard Medical School professor, anthropologist and co-founder of the nonprofit health organization Partners in Health, has died at age 62.

Berlin honors U.S. war veteran 'Candy Bomber'

4:44pm February 18, 2022

Berliners are mourning U.S. veteran Gail Halvorsen, who died this week aged 101. He was one of the pilots who flew planes during the Berlin Airlift, dropping candy among other much-needed supplies.

Cristina Calderón, the last known native speaker of the Yaghan language, poses outside of the local community center in Puerto Williams, southern Chile, on April 23, 2017.

World News

Cristina Calderón, Chile's last known Yaghan speaker, dies at 93

7:03am February 18, 2022

by Rina Torchinsky

Until the end of her days, Abuela Cristina — as many knew her — bided her time making traditional reed baskets, and sharing the Yaghan language and culture with those around her.

Gail Halvorsen, also know as the "Candy Bomber", poses for a portrait at his son's home in Midway, Utah, in 2020. Halvorsen, who was known for his airdrops of sweets during the Berlin airlift after World War II ended, died Wednesday at the age of 101.

The 'Candy Bomber' who dropped sweets during the Berlin airlift has died at age 101

6:08pm February 17, 2022

by The Associated Press

"Halvorsen's deeply human act has never been forgotten," Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey said in a statement.

Bollywood singer and music composer Bappi Lahiri speaks to the media before planting a tree during an environmental awareness campaign in Mumbai on June 19, 2021.

Bappi Lahiri, the king of Bollywood disco, dies at 69

1:34pm February 16, 2022

by Lauren Frayer

Lahiri famously brought a disco vibe to India's biggest film industry. He composed dozens of hits in the 1970s and '80s — which appeared in many top Bollywood movies.

Douglas Trumbull in a publicity portrait from the film Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.

Arts

'2001' and 'Blade Runner' visual effects wizard Douglas Trumbull has died at 79

8:13am February 16, 2022

by Bob Mondello

Trumbull, who brought otherworldly landscapes to life pioneered physical, not digital, effects that catapulted audiences into hyperspace and became Hollywood's go-to guy for sci-fi imagery.

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P.J. O'Rourke, panelist on NPR's 'Wait...Wait Don't Tell Me,' dies at 74

5:08am February 16, 2022

Author, journalist and political satirist P.J. O'Rourke wrote more than 20 books about a range of topics, from politics to cars. He was a longtime panelist on the NPR show Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!.

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P.J. O'Rourke in 2007 in Los Angeles, California.

Books
Arts

Satirist P.J. O'Rourke, panelist on NPR's 'Wait...Wait Don't Tell Me,' dies at 74

5:25pm February 15, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

O'Rourke authored more than 20 books, including Parliament of Whores and Give War a Chance, both of which reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Hollywood special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull dies at 79

3:54pm February 15, 2022

by Bob Mondello

Hollywood special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull has died. He brought to life the impossible landscapes in 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner.

Remembering film director and producer Ivan Reitman

4:26pm February 14, 2022

by Bob Mondello

Film director and producer Ivan Reitman, who tickled moviegoers' funny bones with such '70s and '80s smash comedies as Ghostbusters, Meatballs, Stripes and Kindergarten Cop, has died.