obituaries

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Rabbi Israel Dresner's synagogue, Temple Sha'arey Shalom, in Springfield, N.J., on Jan. 18, 1963. Dresner became close to King when he was an activist for civil rights in the 1960s.

Israel Dresner, rabbi who marched with Martin Luther King, dies at 92

8:29am January 16, 2022

by Tovia Smith

Rabbi Israel "Sy" Dresner was one of the early Freedom Riders in the 1960s civil rights movement and was close with King. He said Jewish teachings and Jewish history compelled his activism.

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Remembering Rabbi Israel Dresner, a Freedom Rider in the civil rights movement

4:55pm January 15, 2022

by Tovia Smith

One of the original Freedom Riders has died. Rabbi Israel Dresner was arrested and jailed multiple times for his activism. He was among those who answered Martin Luther King Jr.'s call.

Remembering devoted father Arthur Schwartz, who died of COVID

5:12pm January 14, 2022

Arthur Schwartz of Ann Arbor, Mich., was a longtime employee of General Motors, a baseball fanatic and a loving father. He died in 2020 from COVID-19.

Critic Terry Teachout in 2014 in New York.

Cultural critic Terry Teachout is remembered as 'unafraid of being human in public'

1:27pm January 14, 2022

by Neda Ulaby

Teachout has died at the age of 65. He wrote acclaimed biographies of such arts figures as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and George Balanchine.

How Ronnie Spector and 'Be My Baby' became a pop-culture sound of sex in 1987

11:40am January 13, 2022

by Linda Holmes

Twice in the same year, the song "Be My Baby" — featuring the voice of Ronnie Spector, who died this week — became the sound that signaled something memorably, indelibly sexy.

Clyde Bellecourt, longtime leader in the fight for Native civil rights, dies at 85

6:41am January 13, 2022

Clyde Bellecourt co-founded the American Indian Movement and was an advocate for tribal sovereignty and cultural revival. He spent his life advocating for legislation to protect Indigenous people.

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Ronnie Spector, lead singer of The Ronettes, has died at age 78

7:41pm January 12, 2022

by Ann Powers

Ronnie Spector, lead singer of the 1960s girl group The Ronettes, has died at 78 after a bout with cancer. She recorded a string of pop hits including "Walking In The Rain" and "Be My Baby."

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Opera singer Maria Ewing photographed on stage at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1994 while she was singing the title role in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, by Dmitri Shostakovich.

Music & Culture

Opera singer Maria Ewing, known for her dramatic intensity, has died at age 71

6:34pm January 11, 2022

by Tom Huizenga

Acclaimed for her fearless performances in operas by Strauss and Bizet, Ewing also partly inspired Passing, a film written and directed by her daughter, Rebecca Hall.

James Mtume, left, and Miles Davis arrive at Heathrow Airport in London on July 10, 1973.

Percussionist James Mtume, the beat behind Miles Davis and later 'Juicy,' dies at 76

4:31pm January 10, 2022

by Brad Farberman

Mtume brought, in Miles Davis' words, "a deep African-American groove" to the trumpet legend's band before later exploring neo-minimalist funk and R&B. And then there was "Juicy."

Remembering an Arizona grandmother and uncle who died of COVID

4:29pm January 10, 2022

Jasmyn Morton remembers her grandmother, Ruby Morton, and uncle, Joseph Morton, who both died from COVID-19 after attending a church event in March 2020, before masking and vaccines were common.

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