obituaries

The Chicago Cubs' Ernie Banks poses in 1970. The Cubs announced Friday night that Banks had died. The team did not provide any further details. Banks was 83.

Sports

Chicago Cubs Legend Ernie Banks, 1st Black Player In Team History, Dies

1:01am January 24, 2015

by Christopher Dean Hopkins

The shortstop known as "Mr. Cub," who began his career in the Negro leagues, hit 512 home runs in his 19 seasons with the team and remained a cherished figure to the team and its fans. He was 83.

Saudi King Abdullah, seen here last November, died early Friday. NPR's Kelly McEvers says he was a man who laid the foundation for reform in the conservative Arab country.

World News

Saudi King Abdullah Leaves Behind A Complex Legacy

1:14pm January 23, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

In the wake of the king's death, he is being remembered as a man who laid the foundation for reform, but also as someone who promised much but accomplished little.

Books

Kent Haruf, Author Of Moving, Colorado-Set Novels, Dies At 71

6:51pm December 02, 2014

by David Greene

Novelist Kent Haruf chased writing in his youth, but it wasn't until he was 40 that he'd developed his skills enough to be published. He's best known for National Book Award finalist Plainsong.

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Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee at the 1989 Cannes Festival for the showing of Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing.

Arts

Ruby Dee: An Actress Who Marched On Washington And Onto The Screen

7:01am September 23, 2014

by Mandalit del Barco

Born Ruby Ann Wallace, she grew up writing poetry in Harlem and went on to become a playwright, activist, journalist and one of the most prominent actresses of her time. She died Wednesday at 91.

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(From left) Joseph McNeil and Franklin McCain, two of the Greensboro Four who the day before had sat at the "whites only" counter of a Woolworth store, came back on Feb. 2, 1960, with two others — Billy Smith and Clarence Henderson.

National

Franklin McCain, One Of 'Greensboro Four,' Dies

2:08pm January 10, 2014

by Mark Memmott

In February 1960, four young black men sat down at a whites-only lunch counter in North Carolina. Their protest would be followed by others across the nation and become a key moment in the civil rights movement. McCain once said that he wasn't scared. He was angry.

Country Star George Jones Dies

12:13pm November 11, 2013

by Mark Memmott

Starting in 1959 and for decades after, he recorded some of country's greatest songs, including "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Jones was 81.

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Jonathan Winters on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1969.

Funny Man Jonathan Winters Dies

5:20pm April 12, 2013

by Mark Memmott

He rose to fame in the 1960s with frequent appearances on The Tonight Show and roles in such movies as It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. In the '80s, he was on TV's Mork & Mindy. Winters' comedy albums are considered to be classics. He was 87.

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Ruth Ann Steinhagen, then-19, in the Cook County Jail after she shot Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Eddie Waitkus in 1949. On the table: a photo of Waitkus taken in the hospital where he was recovering from his bullet wound. The story of his shooting

Stalker Who Inspired 'The Natural' Dies; Lived Real Life In Obscurity

5:54pm March 18, 2013

by Mark Memmott

Ruth Ann Steinhagen was 19 when she shot Eddie Waitkus, a Philadelphia Phillie. She had been obsessed with him, and lured Waitkus to a Chicago hotel room. Initially judged to be insane, she was never tried. For about 60 years, she lived a quiet life in Chicago.

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