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Ray Santos, a Pillar of Latin Jazz, Is Dead at 90
NEW YORK — Ray Santos, who played saxophone with the biggest stars in Latin jazz and went on to write arrangements renowned for their economy and clarity, died on Oct. 17 at a hospital near his home in the Bronx. He was 90.Chris March, Over-the-Top Fashion Designer, Dies at 56
Chris March, a fashion and costume designer whose outrageous outfits caught the eye of audiences on Bravo’s hit reality show “Project Runway,” and who went on to create striking clothes for Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and other stars, died Thursday at a care facility in Stockton, California. He was 56.Peter Fonda, 'Easy Rider' Actor and Screenwriter, Is Dead at 79
Peter Fonda, the writer, director and actor best remembered for playing a motorcycle-riding avatar of the counterculture in “Easy Rider,” an emblematic film of the 1960s that he helped write, died Friday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 79.Bill Buckner, All-Star shadowed by World Series error, dies at 69
Bill Buckner, an outfielder and first baseman whose long, solid career was overshadowed by a crushing error that cost the Boston Red Sox Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets, who went on to win the championship in seven, died Monday. He was 69.Jake Black, a composer of the 'Sopranos' theme, dies at 59
Black died days after Alabama 3 performed at a festival in Lancashire, England.Wayson Choy, whose books are windows on Chinese-canadian life, dies at 80
Wayson Choy, who wrote of the Chinese-Canadian experience in memoirs and novels like “The Jade Peony,” which became a mainstay in Canadian classrooms and led to a revelation about the writer’s own past, died April 28 at his home in Toronto. He was 80.A Rapper Who Came Back for His Neighborhood
Nipsey Hussle’s raps boasted of his exploits as a young man in South Central Los Angeles and the perils of becoming a gang member. But his music was also a path to a more legitimate life for him and an inspiration and exhortation to others in his situation.Lyle Tuttle, Who Recast Tattooing's Image Pore by Pore, Dies at 87
Lyle Tuttle, a tattoo artist who found his own kind of international fame by catering to celebrities while helping to move tattooing, as he put it, from the “back alley” into mainstream acceptability, died on March 26 at his home in Ukiah, California, where he had grown up. He was 87 (and practically covered in tattoos himself).Edda Goering, Unrepentant Daughter of Hermann, Dies at 80
Edda Goering was practically a princess of the Third Reich. As the only daughter of Hermann Goering, the leader of the Luftwaffe and Adolf Hitler’s right-hand man and potential successor, Goering was a national celebrity from the day she was born.Jacques Loussier, Pianist Who Jazzed Up Bach, Dies at 84
Jacques Loussier, a French pianist who led a trio that performed jazzy interpretations of Johann Sebastian Bach, selling millions of albums and touring the world, died March 5 at a hospital in Blois, in France’s Loire Valley. He was 84.Jan-Michael Vincent, Troubled Star of 'Airwolf,' Dies at 73
Jan-Michael Vincent, who became nationally recognizable on the 1980s television series “Airwolf,” but whose career later foundered, in part because of problems with drugs and alcohol, died Feb. 10 at a hospital near his home in Asheville, North Carolina. He was 73.Mark Hollis, Leader of ′80s band Talk Talk, Is Dead
Mark Hollis, the frontman for the British band Talk Talk, which had synth-pop hits in the early 1980s before veering into a more experimental sound that influenced a generation of musicians, has died.Dick Churchill, Last Survivor of 'The Great Escape,' Dies at 99
Dick Churchill, the last living participant in a daring breakout from a German prisoner-of-war camp that inspired the 1963 movie “The Great Escape,” died Feb. 12 at his home near Crediton, Devon, England. He was 99.Mark Bramble, Book Writer of Broadway's 'Barnum,' Dies at 68
Mark Bramble, a Broadway jack-of-all-trades who wrote or co-wrote the books for the hit 1980s musicals “Barnum” and “42nd Street,” both of which earned him Tony nominations, died on Feb. 20 at a hospital in Baltimore. He was 68.W.E.B. Griffin, 89, Dies; Best-Selling Novelist Dozens of Times
W.E.B. Griffin, who depicted the swashbuckling lives of soldiers, spies and cops in almost 60 novels, dozens of which became best-sellers, died Feb. 12 at his home in Daphne, Alabama. He was 89.Bibi Ferreira, Grande Dame of Brazilian Stage, Dies at 96
Bibi Ferreira, an indefatigable grande dame of the Brazilian stage who performed internationally and helped bring Broadway musicals to Brazil in the 1960s, died on Feb. 13 at her home in Rio de Janeiro. She was 96.George Mendonsa, 95, most likely the sailor in a famous photo, dies
He died after a seizure, said Lawrence Verria, who with George Galdorisi wrote “The Kissing Sailor: The Mystery Behind the Photo That Ended World War II” (2012).Patricia Nell Warren, novelist of gay romance, dies at 82
Patricia Nell Warren, whose 1974 novel, “The Front Runner,” was one of the first widely popular books to feature an open romantic relationship between two men, becoming a literary touchstone for many, died on Feb. 9 in Santa Monica, California. She was 82.Pedro Morales, First to Win 3 Major Wrestling Titles, Dies at 76
Pedro Morales, a Hall of Fame professional wrestler who in the 1970s and ‘80s became the first to win all three of what were then wrestling’s premier championships, died Monday in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He was 76.Manfred Eigen, 91, Nobel Winner Who Put a Clock to Chemicals, Dies
Manfred Eigen, who shared the 1967 Nobel Prize in chemistry for devising a method to time chemical reactions that had been thought too swift to measure, died Feb. 6 in at his home in Göttingen, Germany. He was 91.