obituaries

Scientist and inventor James Lovelock poses with one of his early inventions, a homemade gas chromatography device, used for measuring gas and molecules present in the atmosphere, at a science museum in London.

James Lovelock, who theorized that Earth is a living organism, dies at 103

4:30pm July 27, 2022

by The Associated Press

James Lovelock, the British environmental scientist whose influential Gaia theory sees the Earth as a living organism gravely imperiled by human activity, has died on his 103rd birthday.

Tony Dow, actor, director and artist, poses at his home and studio in Los Angeles in 2012.

Arts

Leave It To Beaver star Tony Dow has died

4:14pm July 27, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

Tony Dow, who played Wally Cleaver on the hit TV show Leave It To Beaver, has died at 77. He had cancer.

Remembering trailblazing journalist Tim Giago

7:24am July 27, 2022

by Lee Strubinger

Tim Giago, who started some of the first Native American newspapers, including The Lakota Times, died Sunday at 88. He spent decades building a media landscape by and for Native people.

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Actor Paul Sorvino, star of 'Goodfellas,' and 'Law & Order,' dies at 83

5:04am July 26, 2022

by Andrew Limbong

Actor Paul Sorvino died Monday. He was known for his role as Paulie in Martin Scorcese's gangster epic, "Goodfellas." He was 83 years old.

National

Bob Rafelson, 'Five Easy Pieces' director, has died at age 89

5:19pm July 25, 2022

by Bob Mondello

Filmmaker Bob Rafelson, a key figure in the 1970s New Hollywood movement and director of Five Easy Pieces, has died at 89 from lung cancer.

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Remembering Ivana Trump, Donald Trump's first wife

7:29am July 15, 2022

In 1976, she met Donald Trump while on a work trip to New York. The couple married in 1977, according to the biography.

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UC Berkeley Professor Richard Taruskin, whose 4000-page book The Oxford History of Western Music set a benchmark for writing about the history of classical music.

Remembering Richard Taruskin, a writer who made you care about 1,000 years of music

11:36am July 14, 2022

by Tom Huizenga

Hear the towering – and polarizing – author in conversation about his 4,000-page book, The Oxford History of Western Music.

Remembering Monty Norman, the man behind the James Bond theme

7:11am July 12, 2022

He wrote the spy theme in 1962 for the first 007 film starring the late Sean Connery, and it's been used in all of the movies since.

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Sisters remember their parents, Kenneth and Terry Bridwell, with the songs they loved

6:31pm July 11, 2022

COVID has taken more than 1 million lives in the United States. Sisters Allison Leaver and Shelly Noble remember their parents, Kenneth and Terry Bridwell, with the music of Johnny Cash.

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Vernon Winfrey, father of Oprah Winfrey, stands outside his barber shop in Nashville, Tenn., in 1987. Oprah Winfrey confirmed that her father died on Friday.

Arts

Oprah Winfrey's father, Vernon Winfrey, dies at 89

11:45am July 10, 2022

by The Associated Press

Earlier this week, Oprah surprised her father by throwing him a surprise barbeque in Nashville. The event included a barber chair to honor his long career that included owning a barber shop.