Obituary News

Walter Cronkite: And That's the Way It Was

Source: Michael Ricci
July 17, 2009

The mix of eloquence and authority that the CBS newsman embodied is a far cry from today's anxiety-provoking TV outlets.

For many who grew up in the 1960s and '70s, Walter Cronkite was the voice of unfolding history. On the “ CBS Evening News" and on the spot, his eloquent mediation of the great events of an age almost pathologically overflowing with them was essential to the way those events were understood. Even when he was temporarily at a loss ...

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Legendary CBS Anchor Walter Cronkite Dies at 92

Source: All About Jazz
July 17, 2009

EW YORK – Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called “the most trusted man in America," died Friday. He was 92. Cronkite's longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan home surrounded by family. She said the cause of death was cerebral vascular disease. Adler said, “I have to go now" before breaking down into what ...

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British Conductor Sir Edward Downes and His Wife Die at Swiss Clinic

Source: All About Jazz
July 14, 2009

The distinguished British conductor Sir Edward Downes and his wife Lady Joan have ended their lives at the Dignitas clinic in Zurich, their children revealed today.

The 85-year-old maestro had become virtually blind and had lost some of his hearing, while his 74-year-old wife had been suffering from cancer, according to a statement released by their son and daughter, Caractacus and Boudicca.

Rather than struggle on with their health problems, they decided to end their lives peacefully together last Friday, ...

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Michael Jackson's Death Might Be Ruled Homicide, Police Chief Says

Source: All About Jazz
July 12, 2009

Investigators probing the death of Michael Jackson are awaiting the results of a toxicology report before determining whether the superstars sudden cardiac arrest on June 25th can be ruled an accidental overdose or homicide.

Los Angeles Police chief William Bratton told CNN: We are still awaiting corroboration from the coroners office as to cause of death. That is going to be very dependent on the toxicology reports that are due to come back. And based on those, we ...

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Tom Wilkes Grammy Award-Winning Art Director and Album Cover Designer Dies

Source: Michael Ricci
July 11, 2009

Wilkes designed album covers for the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Janis Joplin and other legendary musicians.

Tom Wilkes, a Grammy Award-winning art director and album cover designer whose work included albums for the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Neil Young and other music legends, has died. He was 69.

Wilkes, who was diagnosed with a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 1999, died of a heart attack June 28 at his home in Pioneertown, Calif., said his daughter, ...

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Len Dobbin: Montreal jazz connoisseur Len Dobbin Dies

Source: All About Jazz
July 10, 2009

Len Dobbin, one of Montreal's best known jazz experts, died in hospital early Thursday after suffering a stroke. He was 74. Dobbin fell ill Wednesday night, while waiting for a show to begin at the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill. Passionate about jazz ever since he was a teenager, Dobbin went on to have a long career in print and on radio, talking about the music he loved. His radio career began nearly five decades ago, in 1962. Since then, ...

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Marl Young Pianist and Arranger Memorial Service Set

Source: Michael Ricci
July 9, 2009

A memorial service for Marl Young, a pianist and arranger

Young who died April 29 at the age of 92, memorial will be held by Professional Musicians, Local 47, from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Local 47 auditorium, 817 Vine St., in Hollywood.

Young played an important role in the merger of the black musicians union Local 767 and the white musicians union Local 47 in Los Angeles in the early 1950s. He became music director for Lucille ...

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300 Graves Tampered with at Historic Cemetery

Source: All About Jazz
July 9, 2009

As frantic relatives of the deceased descended on the Burr Oak Cemetery the final resting place of lynching victim Emmett Till, blues singers Willie Dixon and Dinah Washington investigators said it could be months before they fully understand what took place.

Prosecutors on Thursday charged three gravediggers and a manager in an elaborate scheme in which hundreds of corpses were dug up at a historic black cemetery near Chicago and strewn in a weeded area or reburied with other bodies ...

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