obituaries

P.J. O'Rourke, panelist on NPR's 'Wait...Wait Don't Tell Me,' dies at 74

5:08am February 16, 2022

Author, journalist and political satirist P.J. O'Rourke wrote more than 20 books about a range of topics, from politics to cars. He was a longtime panelist on the NPR show Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!.

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P.J. O'Rourke in 2007 in Los Angeles, California.

Books
Arts

Satirist P.J. O'Rourke, panelist on NPR's 'Wait...Wait Don't Tell Me,' dies at 74

5:25pm February 15, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

O'Rourke authored more than 20 books, including Parliament of Whores and Give War a Chance, both of which reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Hollywood special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull dies at 79

3:54pm February 15, 2022

by Bob Mondello

Hollywood special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull has died. He brought to life the impossible landscapes in 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner.

Remembering film director and producer Ivan Reitman

4:26pm February 14, 2022

by Bob Mondello

Film director and producer Ivan Reitman, who tickled moviegoers' funny bones with such '70s and '80s smash comedies as Ghostbusters, Meatballs, Stripes and Kindergarten Cop, has died.

Drummer Howard Grimes, who played for Al Green and Ann Peebles, was a foundation of 1970s Memphis soul.

Music & Culture

Drummer Howard Grimes, the backbone of Memphis soul, dies at 80

4:56pm February 13, 2022

by Hazel Cills

His beats on songs including Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" served as a crucial foundation for the burgeoning Memphis soul sound of the 1970s.

A 1977 promotional image of the band Foreigner. One of the founding members, Ian McDonald, has died at 75.

Ian McDonald, founding member of King Crimson and Foreigner, has died

5:56pm February 11, 2022

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The multi-instrumentalist initially came blazing onto the scene with his saxophone on the opening cut of King Crimson's first album, In the Court of the Crimson King. He died Wednesday at age 75.

Jon Appleton, the composer who helped develop the digital synthesizer, is dead at 83

4:25pm February 11, 2022

by Liam Elder-Connors

Jon Appleton, who helped develop the digital synthesizer, has died. He was an innovator in what he called "electro-acoustic music," using effects to reshape natural sounds and field recordings.

Remembering tío Mel and tía Amalia, lost to COVID

4:25pm February 11, 2022

Samuel Lorenzo Jimenez and Amalia Ruiz Martinez, known to their family as tío Mel and tía Amalia, died from COVID-19 in 2020. They are remembered by their niece and Amalia's brother.

Books
Arts

Remembering activist Todd Gitlin, who helped lead the '60s antiwar movement

1:26pm February 11, 2022

by Terry Gross

Gitlin was part of the tumultuous student protest movement of the 1960s, and continued his commitment to social change through teaching and writing. He died on Feb. 5. Originally broadcast in 1987.

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Scientist Luc Montagnier, who discovered the virus that causes AIDS, is dead at 89

4:28pm February 10, 2022

by Richard Harris

Luc Montagnier, the scientist who discovered the virus that causes AIDS, has died at 89. His key contribution came at a time when AIDS was mysterious and uniformly deadly.