Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Brian G. Hutton

Director and actor -- via Variety. After many years as a an actor on film and TV, primarily in Westerns, Hutton directed nine films -- including two of my favorite guilty pleasures, "Kelly's Heroes" and "Where Eagles Dare."





B.K.S. Iyengar

Pioneer yoga educator in the West -- via the New York Times.



Francine Beers

Actress -- via sephintazarka.net.


Hashim Khan

Master of the sport of squash -- via the Washington Post.

Joanie Spina

Marta Bohacova

Opera singer -- via lidovky.cz.

Simone Camilli and Ali Shehda Abu Afash

Afash (left) and Camilli.
Journalist and translator -- via the Washington Post.

Phil Mottram

Cinematographer and teacher -- via the Guardian.

William J. Brennan

Priest and activist -- via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.


Dorothy Schwieder

Historian and writer -- via the Argus Leader.

Charles Bracelen Flood

Writer -- via the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Alan Landsburg

TV director, producer, and writer -- via the Hollywood Reporter. Created films such as the Emmy-winning "Bill," and shows such as "That's Incredible!" and "In Search Of . . . "







James Foley

Journalist -- via the Huffington Post.

Laurence Mee

Marine scientist -- via the Scotsman.

Harry Mead Coley Jr.

Restaurateur; founder of Wild About Harry's -- via the Dallas Morning News.

Nicolau Sevcenko

Scholar; expert on Brazilian cultural history -- via the Harvard Gazette.

Harutoshi Funabashi

Anti-nuclear activist -- via jiji.com.

Jack Shallcrass

Educator and writer -- via 3news.co.nz.

Vsevolod Nestayko

Childrens' author -- via korrespondent.net.

Gen Kida

Philosopher -- via The Asahi Shimbun.

Menie Gregoire

Radio host -- via Liberation.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Don Pardo

Jan Ekier

Pianist and composer -- via thenews.pl.





Rick Parashar

Music producer -- via Billboard.

Marjorie Stapp

Actress -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

Peter McAlevey

Writer, promoter, film producer; was a roadie for the Dolls! -- via Variety.

Jerry Lumpe

Former MLB player -- via the Springfield News-Leader.

WEEKLY READER: Our roundup of stories on death, mourning, and more

TOP STORIES

GWAR’s Dave Brockie gets a flaming Viking funeral – a report from Miriam Coleman at Rolling Stone

From Modern Loss: Mark Liebenow on losing his wife

INFOGRAPHIC: Cremation: it's the way to go, from Macrina Cooper-White on Huffington Post


DEATH


An unattended, unnoticed death: Andy Park of the Sydney Morning Herald reports

Death selfies from Izismile

Medical examiner writes memoir, Dennis Kelly of USA Today reports

Native American tribes want ancestors' scalps from German Old West museums -- via Melissa Eddy at the New York Times


In Tablet Magazine, Sarah Ivry is not so fond of viral mourning

From Joel Mathis and Ben Boychuk of Newsday, a debate over the mourning of celebrity deaths

Funeral foods from Epicurious




OBITS

How prominent will your obituary be? It's all in the timing, per Thomas Vinciguerra of the New York Times

Get it right: ESPN posts wrong photo, headline for dead race car driver – Robert Littal of Black Sports Online reports

FUNERALS


Criminally neglectful funeral home story of the week – from KSAT-TV

Steve Furmanski

Guitarist -- via the Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice.

Jay Adams

Pioneering skateboarder -- via the New York Times.



Leonard Fein

Writer and activist -- via the New York Times.




Tunde Ra Aleem

Singer and keyboardist -- via Soul Tracks. With his brother Tarharqa, formed the duo GhettoFighters.

Mydin Ibrahim

Comedian -- via the New Straits Times.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Mariana Briski

Comedian and actress -- via the Buenos Aires Herald.




Pierre Ryckmans

China expert, and writer -- via the New York Times. AKA Simon Leys

Mary MacCracken

Teacher of children with emotional and cognitive disabilities, and memoirist -- via the New York Times. Her books were turned into films: "A Circle of Children" and "Lovey."




Emigdio Vasquez

Artist -- via the L.A. Times.

Gordy MacKenzie

Former MLB player -- via Ultimate Astros.

Columba Dominguez

Irena "Kika" Szaszkiewiczowa

Artist, writer, and blogger -- via Dziennik Polski.

Daroji Eramma

Storyteller -- via The Hindu.


Frans Bruggen

Conductor and musician -- via the Guardian.





Lew Brown

Actor -- via legacy.com.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Licia Albanese

Soprano -- via Parterre. Best remembered as one of the most definitive Cio-Cio Sans, she sang for Toscanini, and with Corelli, Gigli, Bjorling, and Pavarotti, among others. Her singing career stretched from 1934 to 1987 -- 53 years!








Diann Blakely

Poet, essayist, and editor -- via legacy.com.

Maria "Tristessa" Kolokouri

Musician and vocalist -- via Loudwire.

Andre Bush

Jazz guitarist -- via the Fresno Bee.

Gabrielle Blunt

Actress -- via Equity Magazine.

Robert Boehm

Rights activist -- via the New York Times.

FRIDAY BOOK REVIEW: 'The Death Class'

The Death Class: A True Story about Life
By Erika Hayasaki
2014
Simon and Schuster

By BRAD WEISMANN

Dr. Norma Bowe’s death class at Kean University in New Jersey is the ostensible subject of this new book. However, the book quickly becomes a portrait of Bowe, as well as ones of selected members of her class. “The Death Class” is about overcoming tragedy, cruelty, the randomness of life, but to me it’s not that compelling, unfortunately.

Hayasaki’s prose suffers from both stiffness and self-importance. When she gets caught up in her parallel narratives in the center of the book, that awkwardness fades and we get a real flow of story, but it comes back in fits and starts towards the conclusion. At points, staggeringly awful sentences sit next to sublime observations. The jolting quality changes, as well as the up-close-and-personal revelations that stoke the narrative turn “The Death Class” into a long, haphazard feature story full of too many predictable moments.

It is very hard for a journalist not to track into the well-worn and effective template of personal suffering and redemption, but the cumulative impact of “The Death Class” is blunted severely simply by not showing readers the shape and content of Bowe’s course. It becomes the disjointed account of various field trips Bowe takes her class on. In fact, the writer falls for Bowe and what might have been a more effective look at an innovative teaching method turns into a mushy tribute. The reader deserves better.



Hans V. Engstrom

Actor -- via expressen.se.

Val Eddy

Musician -- via the Quad City Times.  AKA Valentino E. DeCastris