Emily Vass Noble

Singer, actress in radio and on stage, writer, and producer of commercials -- via legacy.com. Here's an excellent story on her family's Vass Family Singers history!

Donald Kirkpatrick

Songwriter -- via the Austin Statesman.

Faith Bandler

Aboriginal activist and writer -- via ABC. AKA Ida Lessing Faith Mussing.

Gloria Lothrop

Historian -- via the L.A. Times.

John McCabe

Composer and pianist -- via Gramophone.

Louis Jourdan

Actor -- via Variety. AKA Louis Robert Gendre. The epitome of the dashing Frenchman on film and television, Jourdan actually had quite a good range as a performer. His film debut was derailed by World War II; he fought in the Resistance. He began as a juvenile lead, most notably in "Three Coins in the Fountain" and "Gigi"; he specialized in villains later in films such as "Octopussy" and "Swamp Thing."

Philip Levine

Poet -- via sfgate.com.

Dan Uzan

Volunteer security guard -- via the Daily Forward. Thanks to his presence, the murder of 80 people celebrating a bat mitzvah by a lone terrorist was prevented.

Finn Norgaard

Documentary filmmaker -- via Le Monde.

Danny McCulloch

Bassist, most notably for the Animals -- via NME.

Sam Andrew

Guitarist, songwriter, and founder of Big Brother and the Holding Company -- via Ultimate Classic Rock.

Gary Owens

Disc jockey, voice actor, and much much more -- via TV Line. AKA Gary Altman. One of the original "goofball" DJs of the 1960s, Owens was also the voice of Space Ghost, wrote and performed thousands of commercials and humorous bits, and created comedy albums, wrote books, and on and on. He could play it straight, but more often his profoundly resonant baritone was in the deadpan service of merriment and hijinks. Thanks, Gary!

Chrissy Amphlett

Lead singer for the Divinyls -- via The Age.

Kesava Reddy

Novelist -- via The Hindu.

Ernest Ferlita

Playwright, writer, and teacher -- via Jesuits Central and Southern.

Celina Gonzalez

Singer and songwriter -- via Billboard.

Manrico Gammarota

Actor -- via I Love Italian Movies.

Kevin Delany

Journalist who saved 101 Vietnamese people from death at the Fall of Saigon -- via the Washington Post. 

Tomie Ohtake

Artist -- via the Washington Post.

Steve Strange

Vocalist with Visage; nightclub host and promoter -- via the BBC. AKA Steven Harrington.

Ray Hathaway

Former MLB pitcher, and phenomenal minor-league coach -- via WHKP.

Ricardo Palacios

Actor -- via westernboothill.blogspot.com.

David Carr

Journalist and writer -- via the New York Times. A great writer on media, who also penned an honest and riveting memoir, "The Night of the Gun," not least about his addictions. A damned shame. He was too young.

Derek Rencher

Dancer with the Royal Ballet from 1953 to 1998 -- via Gramilano.

Tama Turanga Huata

Arts leader; pivotal exponent of Maori culture -- via stuff.co.nz.

Joe Simenic

Baseball researcher and historian without peer; one of the founders of the Society of American Baseball Research -- via roadsidephotos.com.

Marie Jose de la Barre d'Erquelinnes, Lady Villiers

Heroine of the Resistance, and social worker -- via the Telegraph. Awarded the Croix de Guerre, her life calls out for a film of it, don't you think? She fought the Nazis and won. Later in life, she calmly disposed of a letter bomb that came to her home. Her memoir is titled, "Granny Was a Spy."

Peter Partner

Historian -- via the Guardian.

Roger Hanin

Actor, screenwriter, and director -- via euronews.com.

Bob Simon

Journalist -- via the New York Daily News.

Layne Tom, Jr.

Actor, and later architect -- via the Hollywood Reporter. AKA Richard Layne Tom.

Anne Naysmith

Pianist and, later, quite independent person -- via the Guardian. AKA Anne Smith.

Jorge Sassi

Actor -- via the Buenos Aires Herald.

Marvin David Levy

Composer -- via the New York Classical Review. Best known for his operatic version of "Mourning Becomes Electra," the 1998 revision of which is beginning to enter the repertoire.

Rinto Harahap

Songwriter and musician -- via the Jakarta Post.

Roman Frister

Journalist and memoirist -- via Haaretz.

Dot-A-Rock

Rapper -- via Billboard. AKA Daryl Mason. Best known as a member of the Fantastic Five.

Melanie Tem

Writer of horror and fantasy; playwright, and poet -- via locusmag.com. AKA Melanie Kubachko.

Kayla Mueller

Humanitarian worker -- via the Huffington Post.

Rex Ray

Artist -- via sfist.

Assia Djebar

Novelist, translator, and filmmaker - via the Guardian. AKA Fatima-Zohra Imalayen.

Roger James

Documentary film editor and producer -- via the Independent.

Helen Eustis

Writer -- via the New York Times.

Ed Sabol

Filmmaker; founder of NFL films -- via the Washington Post. A champion swimmer, he was selected for the 1936 Olympic team but refused to participate due to them taking place in Hitler's Germany. After stints as an actor and a salesman, he picked up a 16mm camera and convinced the NFL to let him chronicle its activities. The hyperbolic, slow-motion sagas he crafted out of the footage are now regarded as innovative and iconic.

Stanley Aronson

Doctor, teacher, and founder of Brown's medical school -- via Brown University.

Mike "Bossman" Hardin

Proprietor of the iconic hamberger joint Hodad's -- via Sand Diego Community News.

Katrine Windfeld

Film and TV director -- via Screen Daily.

Richard 'Scooter' Davis

Vocalist with the Willows -- via mccalls.net. AKA Rico. Their big hit -- "Church Bells May Ring."

Deathcetera: The week in mortality and mourning

 DEATH

Is he dead or just meditating? – via TIME magazine

The hard part about hiring a mortician? Weeding out the necrophiliacs – from Lizette Borelli at Medical Daily

Dying – the checklist – from Thorin Klosowski at Lifehacker (from 2013)

‘Death with Dignity’ bill debated, defeated in Colorado House – via Megan Verlee at Colorado Public Radio

At the end of life, people seek the company of those in their birth culture – via Lulu Miller at NPR

Trying to reduce iatrogenic (doctor-caused) deaths – via the BBC

Life after death? The fable of the twin fetuses – via WND Fatih

MOURNING

Closure: man kills crocodile that ate his wife – from Sean Levinson in Elite Daily

‘My Dad the Pornographer’-- by Chris Offut in the New York Times

A review of ‘Mourning Lincoln’ and ‘Lincoln’s Body’ – by Jill LePore at the New York Times

Ways to protect your digital info after death – Kimberly Palmer at U.S. News & World Report

Your last photo before death maybe a selfie – via Sophia Sleigh at the Daly Mirror

FUNERALS

Interview with alternative mortician Caitlin Doughty – from intheframe

Woman shows up at funeral to honor modest man who saved her life – via Janet Boyle at the Sunday Post

‘Inspection Backlog, Complaints Trouble Funeral Homes’ – from AP via CBS Minnesota

Ohio has problems with hydrolysis – via Alan Johnson at the Columbus Dispatch

Lincoln funeral rail car recreated for 150^th anniversary of his death – via Frank Mathie at ABC News Chicago

Indicted undertakers still working on the sly – via Mireya Villareal at CBS Dallas-Ft. Worth

Bumps in the road for those who opt for prepaid funeral plans – via Nancy Hicks at the Lincoln Journal Star

OBITS

‘Obituary surfing’ – hackers steal from the recently deceased – via Michelle Boudin at WCNC

Seahawks’ Super Bowl play blamed for man’s untimely death – vi Reuters

Woman writes her own somewhat humorous obit – via Adam Rifkin at Elite Daily