obituaries

Remembering Michigan State Representative Who Died Of COVID-19

5:57am November 05, 2020

Isaac Robinson came from a politically engaged family in Detroit and had a deep connection to politics. Friends remember the 44 year old as a tenacious state representative. Robinson died in March.

Queue Listen Now

Baron Wolman, photographed on Aug. 2, 2011 in New York for the release of his book The Rolling Stones Years.

Baron Wolman, Rolling Stone's First Staff Photographer, Dies At 83

7:43pm November 03, 2020

by Tom Moon

Wolman was the gifted eye behind countless iconic photographs of legendary artists, including Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Miles Davis and Johnny Cash, and the tumult of the first Woodstock.

Arts

Sean Connery, Hollywood's 1st James Bond, Dies At 90

6:05pm October 31, 2020

by Bob Mondello

Actor Sean Connery has died at age 90. He will best be remembered as Hollywood's first James Bond — and as a Scotsman to his core.

Queue Listen Now

Sean Connery, pictured in Amsterdam during the 1971 filming of Diamonds Are Forever, played James Bond in seven movies.

Arts

Sean Connery, Actor And The Original James Bond, Dies At 90

3:38pm October 31, 2020

by Jacki Lyden

The Oscar-winning film star with the distinctive Scottish brogue eventually outgrew the 007 role to appear in a range of movies in a career that spanned nearly a half-century.

Queue Listen Now

Cecilia Chiang poses in her kitchen in 2014. She told NPR that when she first arrived in the U.S., she was shocked by the food most Americans considered to be Chinese.

Arts

Cecilia Chiang, Who Revolutionized American Chinese Food, Dies At 100

5:43pm October 28, 2020

by Neda Ulaby

In 1961, Chiang opened San Francisco's The Mandarin, a high-end Chinese restaurant that served authentic fare. Today, her DNA is all over American Chinese food, from P.F. Chang's to Panda Express.

Di Prima's Memoirs of a Beatnik was a highly sexualized fictional account of the poet's time with the Beats.

Books
Arts

Diane di Prima, Beat Poet And Activist, Dead At 86

12:04pm October 27, 2020

by Andrew Limbong

Di Prima wrote over 40 books of poetry and memoir, including her collection the radical and political Revolutionary Letters,

Country legend Jerry Jeff Walker poses backstage at a country music festival in 2009. Walker, best known for his hit "Mr. Bojangles," died Friday after complications from throat cancer. He was 78.

Music & Culture

Jerry Jeff Walker, Who Wrote 'Mr. Bojangles,' Dies At 78

5:11pm October 24, 2020

by Matthew S. Schwartz

Walker was a pioneer in Austin's country music scene in the 1970s. His most famous song, "Mr. Bojangles," went on to inspire countless covers.

Sports

NFL Hall Of Famer Fred Dean Dies At 68

4:43pm October 23, 2020

The San Francisco 49ers legend has died of COVID-19.

Magician James Randi used his skill as an illusionist to debunk quacks and fakers.

Arts

'Amazing' Escape Artist, Magician, And Skeptic James Randi Dead At 92

4:08pm October 22, 2020

by Andrew Limbong

The MacArthur grant-winning magician performed amazing escape acts and magic tricks to disprove the paranormal and, along the way, inspired numerous younger performers including Penn & Teller.

The Spencer Davis Group in 1966: Pete York (from left), Spencer Davis, Muff Winwood and Steve Winwood. Davis died Monday at the age of 81.

'Gimme Some Lovin' ' Bandleader Spencer Davis Dead at 81

6:31pm October 20, 2020

by Andrew Limbong

The Welsh multi-instrumentalist helped take his self-named band to the Top 10 in the U.S. and the U.K. in the mid-1960s and launched the career of Steve Winwood.