Composer John Barry Dies

John Barry and Paul Bateman at the Royal Albert Hall, 30 September 2006. (Photographer: Geoff Leonard.)

Composer John Barry Dies
Monday, 31 January 2011

Composer John Barry, who won five Oscars for his film work, has died at the age of 77.

Barry's family said Monday that he had died in New York Sunday.

The Britain-born composer was well-known for his music in a string of James Bond films, but his five Oscars were won for other movies, including Out of Africa, The Lion in Winter, Born Free and Dances with Wolves.

The family said Barry is survived by his wife of 33 years, and his four children and five grandchildren.

British radio reports Barry died of a heart attack.

British Opera Star Margaret Price Dies

Dame Margaret Price (Photo: Hyperion UK)

British Opera Star Margaret Price Dies
Sunday, 30 January 2011

British opera star Margaret Price, considered one of the world's leading sopranos, died at her home in Wales of heart failure Friday. She was 69.

The famed soprano, known for her exquisite interpretation of the complicated works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, rose to prominence after her debut as Cherubino in Mozart's “The Marriage of Figaro” at the Welsh National Opera in 1962.

She performed in many of the world's most famous opera houses, including New York, Vienna, Paris and Munich. She retired in 1999 and returned to Wales after living in Munich for many years.

Over the course of her life, Price was honored in many countries. In 1993, she was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, giving her the title Dame Margaret.

Final Exits, 22-28 January 2011

Obituaries for 22-28 January 2011

Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Louvin at Banjo Jim's in NYC on 2008-10-24. (Photographer: Anthony Pepitone)

22
* Virgil Akins, 82, American boxer, world welterweight champion (1958).
* Solange Bertrand, 97, French artist. (French)
* Sir Chandos Blair, 91, British army general.
* Ralph Felton, 78, American football player (Washington Redskins).
* Aslam Khokhar, 91, Pakistani cricketer.
* John Muir Mason, 71, Scottish lawyer, musician and composer, founder of Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, long illness.
* Cristino Nicolaides, 86, Argentine army commander and criminal, pulmonary complications.
* Park Wan-suh, 79, South Korean novelist. (German)
* Bobby Poe, 77, American pop singer, songwriter and promoter, blood clot.
* William Schreyer, 83, American Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch (1985–1993).
* Lois Smith, 81, Canadian dancer (National Ballet of Canada).
* Tullia Zevi, 91, Italian journalist and writer.

23
* Elizabeth Buhler, 111, Canadian supercentenarian.
* Howard Dahnert, 92, American Drum Corps International Hall of Fame member.
* Ed Dyas, 71, American football player (Auburn Tigers), member of the College Football Hall of Fame, stomach cancer.
* Peter Gibb, 56, Australian criminal, heart attack.
* Ole Kopreitan, 73, Norwegian political activist. (Norwegian)
* Jack LaLanne, 96, American fitness and nutritional expert, pneumonia.
* Poppa Neutrino, 77, American adventurer, heart failure.
* Louise Raggio, 91, American lawyer.
* Novica Tadić, 62, Yugoslavian poet. (Serbian)

24
* Alec Boden, 85, Scottish footballer (Celtic).
* Bernd Eichinger, 61, German film producer and director (The NeverEnding Story), heart attack.
* Phil Gallie, 71, British politician, MP for Ayr (1992–1997), MSP for South of Scotland (1999–2007).
* Barrie Lee Hall, Jr., 61, American jazz trumpeter and band leader (Duke Ellington).
* Bhimsen Joshi, 88, Indian musician, Bharat Ratna laureate.
* José María Luevano, 37, Mexican torero, traffic accident. (Spanish)
* Francisco Mata, 78, Venezuelan folk singer and composer. (Spanish)
* Samuel Ruiz, 86, Mexican Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of San Cristóbal de las Casas (1959–2000). (Spanish)
* Audun Tylden, 62, Norwegian music executive and record producer, heart failure. (Norwegian)
* Chief White Eagle, 93, Canadian-born American actor and stuntman.
* Anna Yablonskaya, 29, Ukrainian playwright, bombing. (Russian)
* Peter-Paul Zahl, 66, German author. (German)

25
* Daniel Bell, 91, American sociologist.
* Audrey Best, 50, Canadian lawyer, ex-wife of politician and lawyer Lucien Bouchard, breast cancer.
* Vincent Cronin, 86, British writer.
* Bill Holden, 82, English footballer.
* Arto Javanainen, 51, Finnish ice hockey player, after long illness. (Finnish)
* Vasilis Konstantakopoulos, 76, Greek ship owner and businessman, cancer. (Greek)
* Betty Smith, 81, British jazz saxophonist, singer and bandleader.
* Ganga Bahadur Thapa, 80, Nepalese Olympic athlete, brain hemorrhage.

26
* Robert Crook, 81, American politician, Mississippi state senator (1964–1992).
* John Herbert, 81, Brazilian actor, emphysema. (Portuguese)
* Gladys Horton, 65, American R&B singer (The Marvelettes), complications from a stroke.
* David Kato, 40s, Ugandan gay rights activist, beating.
* R. F. Langley, 72, British poet and diarist.
* Charlie Louvin, 83, American country music singer (The Louvin Brothers), pancreatic cancer.
* Shawn McGrath, 34, American professional wrestler, suicide.
* María Mercader, 92, Spanish actress. (Spanish)
* Jesús Romero Anselmi, Venezuelan journalist, President of Venezolana de Televisión (2001–2003). (Spanish)

27
* Charlie Callas, 83, American comedian and actor (Silent Movie, Switch).
* Tony DiPardo, 98, American bandleader and music director (Kansas City Chiefs), brain aneurysm.
* Liana Dumitrescu, 38, Romanian politician, stroke. (Romanian)
* Mārtiņš Freimanis, 33, Latvian musician (F.L.Y.) and actor, performed at Eurovision Song Contest 2003, influenza. (Latvian)
* Paco Maestre, 53, Spanish actor, heart attack.
* Svein Mathisen, 58, Norwegian footballer (IK Start), cancer. (Norwegian)
* Henrik Ostergaard, 47, Danish-born American singer (Dirty Looks), natural causes.
* Tøger Seidenfaden, 53, Danish newspaper editor-in-chief (Politiken), cancer.
* Michael Van Rooy, 42, Canadian author, heart attack.
* Guy Velella, 66, American politician and ex-convict, New York State Assemblyman (1973–1982) and State Senator (1986–2004), lung cancer.

28
* Sushil Kumar Dhara, 99, Indian revolutionary.
* Dame Margaret Price, 69, Welsh soprano.

Fitness Expert Jack LaLanne Dies at 96

PCPFS Lifetime Achievement Award winner Jack LaLanne recognized by Secretary Leavitt at an HHS prevention event on Capitol Hill on May 3, 2007. (Photo: The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports)

Fitness Expert Jack LaLanne Dies at 96
24 January 2011

Jack LaLanne, the American fitness expert who was among the first to stress the importance of regular exercise and a healthy diet, has died at age 96.

His agent says LaLanne died Sunday of respiratory failure brought on by pneumonia.

The San Francisco-born LaLanne said he decided to turn his life around after spending much of his teenage years at ease and eating rich, sugary foods. He said he discovered the advantages of raw fruits and vegetables and regular physical workouts.

LaLanne opened his first health spa in 1936. He designed his own exercise equipment, and marketed his own books, videos and juicer machines.

LaLanne's television show, with its perky organ music and ever-present dog, was a morning television habit for millions of Americans for more than 20 years beginning in the 1950s.

He also was famous for such stunts as swimming in the cold ocean while towing boats shackled to his body.

LaLanne worked out regularly up until his death.

Mourners Remember Sargent Shriver

Portrait of R. Sargent Shriver (ca. 1962), first Director of the Peace Corps. (to which this picture relates). He was also US ambassador to France, and US Vice-Presidential candidate in 1972. (Photographer: Rowland Scherman, Peace Corps. Photograph in the R. Sargent Shriver Collection, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.)

Mourners Remember Sargent Shriver
First Peace Corps director died Tuesday at the age of 95
VOA News
22 January 2011

Mourners gathered Saturday to remember veteran U.S. politician and former Peace Corps director Sargent Shriver.

Shriver, brother-in-law to slain U.S. President John F. Kennedy, died Tuesday at age 95, after suffering for years from Alzheimer's disease.

A funeral Mass was held Saturday at a church in the eastern state of Maryland. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama were among those in attendance.

Shriver was the first director of the Peace Corps, the volunteer program established under President Kennedy that allows Americans to serve in underdeveloped countries.

He was married to President Kennedy's sister, Eunice, who founded the Special Olympics program for the mentally disabled in 1968. She died in 2009.

Shriver also served in the White House under President Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson, and was Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern's vice presidential running mate in 1972. Shriver himself ran unsuccessfully for the White House in 1976.

In 1994, Shriver received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor.

The Shriver family issued a statement earlier this week calling their patriarch a man of giant love and energy who sought to make the world a more compassionate place. U.S. President Barack Obama called Shriver one of the brightest lights of his generation.

Shriver's grandchildren shared memories of him at Saturday's funeral, recalling his service and love of baseball.

The memorial also featured performances by Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean and Bono, frontman for the Irish rock band U2.

Shriver's daughter, Maria Shriver, is married to former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Final Exits, 15-21 January 2011

Obituaries for 15-21 January 2011

American documentary photographer Milton Rogovin in a darkroom.

15
* Patti Gilbert, 79, American voice and character actress (Batman), complications from diabetes.
* Roy Hartsfield, 85, American baseball player, first manager of Toronto Blue Jays, complications of liver cancer.
* Harvey James, 58, Australian musician (Sherbet), lung cancer.
* Michael Langham, 91, English stage director and actor, complications from a chest infection.
* Patrick Leclercq, 60, German journalist (ARD). (German)
* Romulus Linney, 80, American playwright, father of actress Laura Linney, lung cancer.
* Nat Lofthouse, 85, English footballer (Bolton Wanderers, England).
* Ed Lowe, 64, American journalist (Newsday, The Long Island Press), liver cancer.
* Royal Marshall, 43, American radio producer (The Neal Boortz Show), heart attack.
* Roque Muñoz, 83, Dominican sports official, International Olympic Committee member, prostate cancer.
* Mike Vibert, 60, Jersey politician, Minister for Education, Sport and Culture (2005–2008), heart attack.
* Susannah York, 72, English actress (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?; Superman), bone marrow cancer.
* Hilde Zach, 68, Austrian politician, Mayor of Innsbruck (2002–2010). (German)

16
* Augusto Algueró, 76, Spanish composer and conductor, cardiac arrest.
* Miguel Ángel Álvarez, 88, Puerto Rican comedian and actor, respiratory failure.
* Julian Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith, 94, British aristocrat and diplomat, Administrator of Saint Lucia (1958–1962), Governor of the Seychelles (1962–1967).
* Edward Chlapowski, 88, American Navy radioman, announced Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, cancer.
* Thelmo Cunanan, 72, Filipino general, diplomat and business executive (National Oil Company, SSS), cancer.
* Günther Feustel, 86, German author. (German)
* Jean Pierre XVIII Kasparian, 83, Egyptian-born Lebanese Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia, head of the Armenian Catholic Church (1982–1998).
* Andrzej Krol, 52, Polish footballer. (Polish)
* Steve Prestwich, 56, British-born Australian drummer (Cold Chisel, Little River Band) and songwriter, brain tumour.
* Reinaldo Pünder, 72, German-born Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Coroatá (since 1978).
* Alcides Silveira, 72, Uruguayan footballer. (Spanish)
* Stefka Yordanova, 64, Bulgarian sprinter and middle distance runner.

17
* Pintu Bhattacharya, 71, Indian singer.
* Sigurjón Brink, 36, Icelandic singer.
* Sir Bernard Crossland, 87, British engineer, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast (1978–1982).
* Keith Davey, 84, Canadian politician and campaign organizer, Senator (1966–1996).
* Gita Dey, 79, Indian actress, cardiac arrest.
* Jean Dutourd, 91, French novelist. (French)
* Don Kirshner, 76, American record producer and songwriter, host of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, heart failure.
* Robert W. Mackenzie, 82, Canadian labour organizer and politician, Ontario Minister of Labour (1990–1994).
* Max B. Miller, 73, American member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, suicide by gunshot.
* John Ross, 72, American activist, author and journalist, liver cancer.
* Shinichiro Sakurai, 81, Japanese automotive engineer. heart failure. (Japanese)
* Yiannis Stamatiou, 75, Greek bouzouki player. (Greek)

18
* George Crowe, 89, American baseball player.
* Eugenia Escudero, 96, Mexican Olympic fencer. (Spanish)
* Duncan Hall, 85, Australian rugby league player.
* Purushottam Das Jalota, 84, Indian singer.
* Dimitris Papadomarkakis, 79, Greek journalist. (Greek)
* Cristian Paţurcă, 46, Romanian composer. (body found on this date)
* Milton Rogovin, 101, American documentary photographer.
* Jacques Sarr, 76, Senegalese Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Thiès (since 1986).
* Sargent Shriver, 95, American diplomat and activist, U.S. vice-presidential candidate (1972), complications from Alzheimer's disease.
* Wital Taras, 54, Belarusian journalist, cancer. (Polish)

19
* Andreas Belezinis, 82, Greek philologist and literature critic. (Greek)
* Neva Egan, 96, American gubernatorial First Lady (1959–1966, 1970–1974), widow of Alaska governor William Allen Egan.
* George Franck, 92, American football player (New York Giants).
* Abel Guerrero García, Mexican politician, Mayor of Ajacuba, shot. (Spanish)
* Mihai Ionescu, 74, Romanian footballer (Petrolul Ploieşti, Romania). (Romanian)
* Jose Kusugak, 60, Canadian Inuit leader, bladder cancer.
* Spyros Linardos, 76, Greek meteorologist, stroke. (Greek)
* Ernest McCulloch, 84, Canadian haematologist, pioneer of stem cell science.
* Ramiro Saraiva Guerreiro, 93, Brazilian politician, Minister of External Relations (1979–1985). (Portuguese)
* Wilfrid Sheed, 80, English-born American novelist and essayist, urosepsis.
* Carla Swart, 23, South African cyclist, traffic accident.
* Malina Zasadzińska, 81, Polish radio personality and broadcaster. (Polish)

20
* Pino Brumatti, 62, Italian basketball player. (Italian)
* Luis Jaime Cisneros Vizquerra, 89, Peruvian linguist and professor. (Spanish)
* Sonia Gal, 87, Israeli wife of President Shimon Peres.
* Miesque, 27, French racehorse, euthanized.
* Mohamad Hidhir Abu Hassan, 54, Malaysian politician, member of the State Assembly of Malacca, heart attack.
* Reynolds Price, 77, American author, professor at Duke University.
* John Jacob Rhodes III, 67, American politician, Representative from Arizona (1987–1993).
* Eugénio Salessu, 87, Angolan Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Malanje (1977-1998).
* Sexy Cora, 23, German pornographic actress, cardiac arrest.
* Gus Zernial, 87, American baseball player (Athletics, Tigers, White Sox), congestive heart failure.

21
* Theoni V. Aldredge, 88, Greek-born American costume designer.
* Emanuele Gerada, 90, Maltese Roman Catholic prelate, Titular Archbishop of Nomentum, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland (1989–1995).
* Enrico Luigi Micheli, 72, Italian politician, MP (1996–2008) and Minister of Public Works (1998–1999). (Italian)
* Charles Zwolsman, 55, Dutch criminal and racing driver. (Dutch)
* Ed Mauser, 94, World War II veteran, Easy company, 506 regiment, 101st airborne division. (Cancer)

Sargent Shriver, Kennedy Brother-In-Law, Dies at 95

Sargent Shriver, director of the Peace Corps, (center) and U.S. President John F. Kennedy (right) at the White House. 28 August 1961. (Photographer: Abbie Rowe. Source: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.)

Sargent Shriver, Kennedy Brother-In-Law, Dies at 95
VOA News
19 January 2011

Veteran U.S. politician and former Peace Corps director Sargent Shriver has died.  He was 95 years old.

Shriver entered a hospital outside Washington Monday for an undisclosed illness, but he had been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

Sargent Shriver was the brother-in-law of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.

He also was the brother-in-law of Robert F. Kennedy, the former U.S. senator and presidential candidate assassinated in 1968, and Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, who died in 2009.

Shriver was married to their sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics program for the mentally disabled in 1968. She died in 2009.

Sargent Shriver was the first director of the Peace Corps, the volunteer program that allows Americans to serve in underdeveloped countries. The program was established under President Kennedy.

Additionally, Shriver was Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern's vice presidential running mate in 1972.

In 1994, Shriver received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor.

Shriver was the father of Maria Shriver, who is married to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Republican governor of California.

British Actress Susannah York Dead at 72

Susannah York with Jos Vantyler in The Lady Of Lakspur Lotion 2009. (Photographer: John Annie)

British Actress Susannah York Dead at 72
16 January 2011

British actress Susannah York, best known for her role opposite Jane Fonda in the 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, has died. She was 72 years old.

Her son Orlando Wells told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, his mother had been suffering from bone marrow cancer and died Friday surrounded by family. Wells added that York was “an absolutely fantastic mother, who was very down to earth.”

Susannah York achieved international fame in such classic movies as Tom Jones and A Man for All Seasons.

She acted on the stage, on television and in films and was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, a story about a disparate group of characters taking part in a dance marathon.

World Leaders, Officials Honor Late US Diplomat Holbrooke

Richard C. Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (01/26/2009 - 12/13/2010). Photo: U.S. State Department.

World Leaders, Officials Honor Late US Diplomat Holbrooke
Kent Klein
White House
14 January 2011

President Barack Obama has eulogized U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke as a clear-eyed realist whose legacy of peace reaches around the world. World leaders and U.S. officials crowded the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Friday to pay tribute to the late ambassador.

President Obama says Richard Holbrooke was an extraordinary diplomat, who served his country until his final moments. "Speaking truth to power from the Mekong Delta to the Paris Peace Talks, paving the way to our normalization of relations with China, serving as ambassador in a newly-unified Germany, bringing peace to the Balkans, strengthening our relationship with the United Nations, and working to advance peace and progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.

Holbrooke collapsed while meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department on December 11. He died two days later at the age of 69.

Holbrooke’s greatest success came in 1995, when he persuaded the two sides in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s bloody ethnic conflict to accept the terms of the Dayton Peace Accords.

At Friday’s memorial, Mr. Obama said Holbrooke’s hard-headed, clear-eyed realism about how the world works was a driving force behind the Bosnia accord. "And that coupling of realism and idealism, which has always represented what is best in American foreign policy, that was at the heart of his work in Bosnia, where he negotiated and cajoled and threatened, all at once, until peace was the only outcome possible," he said.

Richard Holbrooke began his career in the early 1960’s as a civilian representative for the Agency for International Development in South Vietnam.  He joined the State Department and worked for the U.S. ambassadors in Saigon.  And before the age of 30, Holbrooke was part of the American delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.

Holbrooke later led the Peace Corps in Morocco, advised presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in his 1976 campaign, and worked as an executive at a Wall Street investment firm.

He also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany and to the United Nations, and finally as President Obama’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The president said Friday Holbrooke created a lasting impact on American diplomacy and everyone affected by it. "His legacy is seen in the children of Bosnia who lived to raise families of their own, in a Europe that is peaceful and united and free.  And young boys and girls from the tribal regions of Pakistan, to whom he pledged our country’s friendship.  And in the role that America continues to play as a light to all who aspire to live in freedom and in dignity," he said.

In his eulogy, Mr. Obama announced the creation of an annual award named for Holbrooke, to honor excellence in U.S. diplomacy. 

Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were among others who spoke at the memorial.

Final Exits, 8-14 January 2011

Obituaries for 8-14 January 2011

John McCarthy Roll, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of Arizona. (Photo: Administrative Office of the United States Courts)

8
* Josep Artigas, 87, Spanish international footballer. (Catalan)
* Padma Atluri, 39, American television writer (90210, Men in Trees), uterine cancer.
* Joey Carew, 73, Trinidadian cricketer (West Indies), arteriosclerosis.
* Jiří Dienstbier, 73, Czech politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1989–1992).
* Peter Donaldson, 58, Canadian actor (The Sweet Hereafter, Emily of New Moon, Road to Avonlea), lung cancer.
* Oleg Grabar, 81, American Islamic art historian, heart failure.
* Ángel Pedraza, 48, Spanish footballer and manager, cancer. (Catalan)
* Manuel Pestana Filho, 82, Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Anápolis (1978–2004).
* John Roll, 63, American federal judge, shot.
* Del Reisman, 86, American television producer (Rawhide, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables) and writer, cardiac arrest.
* Elfa Secioria, 51, Indonesian jazz pianist.
* Thorbjørn Svenssen, 86, Norwegian footballer, record 104 appearances for the national team, stroke. (Norwegian)
* Christopher Trumbo, 70, American screenwriter, kidney cancer.
* William F. Walsh, 98, American politician, Mayor of Syracuse, New York (1961–1969), Congressman (1973–1979).

9
* Vítor Alves, 75, Portuguese soldier and politician, member of the MFA, responsible for the Carnation Revolution, cancer. (Portuguese)
* Richard Butcher, 29, English footballer (Macclesfield Town), natural causes.
* Ruth Cavin, 92, American mystery novel editor, lung cancer.
* Nínawa Daher, 31, Argentine journalist and news presenter (C5N), car crash. (Spanish)
* Debbie Friedman, 59, American songwriter, pneumonia.
* Marian Kiełbaszczak, 95, Polish anime director. (Polish)
* Gaston L'Heureux, 67, Canadian announcer, diabetes. (French)
* Sir Ernest Lee-Steere, 98, Australian horse racing official, Lord Mayor of Perth (1972–1978).
* Makinti Napanangka, 80s, Australian Papunya Tula artist.
* Maria Paradowska, 78, Polish professor and historian. (Polish)
* Howard Wallace Pollock, 90, American politician, Congressman from Alaska (1967–1971).
* Dave Sisler, 79, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds), prostate cancer.
* Jerzy Woźniak, 78, Polish footballer (Legia Warszawa). (Polish)
* Peter Yates, 81, British film director and producer (Bullitt, Breaking Away, Krull).
* Yue Lei, 50, Singaporean singer, nose cancer.

10
* Naseerullah Babar, 82, Pakistani soldier and politician, Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1976–1977) and Interior Minister (1993–1996).
* John Dye, 47, American actor (Touched by an Angel).
* Cookie Gilchrist, 75, American football player, cancer.
* Joe Gores, 79, American novelist and screenwriter.
* John Gross, 75, British literary critic.
* Miklós Hofer, 79, Hungarian architect. (Hungarian)
* Bora Kostić, 80, Serbian footballer (Red Star Belgrade). (Serbian)
* Alberto León, 37, Spanish mountain bike rider, involved in Operación Galgo, suicide. (body found on this date)
* Juanito Navarro, 86, Spanish actor, heart failure. (Spanish)
* Gideon Njoku, 63, Nigerian footballer and coach, cardiac arrest.
* Abraham Ortíz Rosales, Mexican politician, Mayor of Temoac, shot.
* Boško Petrović, 75, Croatian vibraphonist and music producer.
* Vivek Shauq, 47, Indian actor, comedian, writer and singer, heart attack.
* A. W. B. Simpson, 79, British legal historian.
* María Elena Walsh, 80, Argentine musician, poet and writer ("Manuelita la tortuga"), after long illness.
* John J. Ward, 90, American Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles (1963–1996).
* Margaret Whiting, 86, American pop singer ("A Tree in the Meadow", "Moonlight in Vermont"), natural causes.

11
* Zoltán Berczik, 73, Hungarian table tennis player and coach. (Hungarian)
* Susana Chávez, 36, Mexican poet and human rights activist, strangled. (death confirmed on this date)
* Kozo Haraguchi, 100, Japanese track and field athlete, respiratory failure. (Japanese)
* Al Koslik, 76, Canadian stage and television actor, stroke.
* Audrey Lawson-Johnston, 95, American-born British RMS Lusitania passenger and last survivor.
* John Modinos, 84, Cypriot opera baritone, heart failure.
* David Nelson, 74, American actor (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), colon cancer.
* Knut Olsen, 57, Norwegian journalist and television presenter, cancer. (Norwegian)
* Won-il Rhee, 50, South Korean digital art curator, heart attack. (German)
* Ze'ev Segal, 64, Israeli jurisprudent.
* Lietta Tornabuoni, 79, Italian film critic, complications from a fall. (Italian)
* Marcel Trudel, 93, Canadian professor, author and historian on New France, cancer.

12
* Clemar Bucci, 90, Argentine racing driver. (Spanish)
* Daniela Conolly, 39, Brazilian fashion stylist and designer, mudslide. (Portuguese)
* Howard Engleman, 91, American college basketball player.
* Albert Heijn, 83, Dutch enterpreneur, owner of Albert Heijn supermarkets.
* Henny King, 75, Canadian journalist and philanthropist, former wife of Solomon King.
* Paul Picerni, 88, American actor (The Untouchables), heart attack.
* Kenneth Stevenson, 61, British Anglican prelate, Bishop of Portsmouth (1995–2009).
* Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, 52, American dog trainer and author, respiratory distress.

13
* José Aramburu Topete, 92, Spanish general.
* Alexandru Caragea, 58, Romanian politician and teacher. (Romanian)
* David Coren, 93, Israeli politician. (Hebrew)
* Tommy Crain, 59, American guitarist (The Charlie Daniels Band).
* Tuviah Friedman, 88, Israeli Nazi hunter.
* Michel Gratton, 58, Canadian journalist, press secretary of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
* Luis Jiménez Mata, 45, Mexican politician, Mayor of Santiago Amoltepec, shot. (Spanish)
* Charles Muscat, 48, Maltese footballer.
* Prabhakar Panshikar, 79, Indian stage actor, after long illness.
* Ellen Stewart, 91, American theater director.
* Marian Woyna-Orlewicz, 97, Polish cross country skier. (Polish)

14
* Reggie Doucet, 25, American college football player, shot.
* Trish Keenan, 42, British musician (Broadcast), pneumonia.
* Liu Huaqing, 94, Chinese naval commander (1982–1988).
* David MacSwan, 51, Australian theatre director.
* Peter Post, 77, Dutch cyclist. (Dutch)
* Mississippi Winn, 113, American supercentenarian.

Obama Pays Tribute to Arizona Shooting Victims

Intern Daniel Hernandez, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, astronaut Mark E. Kelly and Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano at a memorial for the victims of the 2011 Tucson shooting.

Obama Pays Tribute to Arizona Shooting Victims
Dan Robinson
White House
12 January 2011

In an emotional visit to Tucson, Arizona late Wednesday, President Barack Obama has visited the wounded from last Saturday's mass shooting and with families of the six people killed. The president and first lady Michelle Obama attended a memorial honoring victims of the shooting spree, and urged Americans toward more civility amid ongoing national debate sparked by the tragic event.

The president, his wife, and other officials accompanying them went almost immediately to the University of Arizona Medical Center. 

There, they briefly visited U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who remains in critical condition in the early days of recovery from a gunshot to the head suffered in last Saturday's attack.

Altogether, the Obamas visited with five of the 13 people wounded in the shooting, and with family members of the six people killed, and hospital staff.

Like other presidents before him at moments of national trauma, Mr. Obama in remarks at a memorial called "Together We Thrive" focused on a process of national healing, and on honoring and paying respect to the lives of those killed and wounded. 

But he did not shy away from addressing the national debate in the wake of the shootings.  Referring to what he called a "sharply polarized" national discourse, he urged Americans not to allow the tragedy to create additional divisions.

"Yes, we have to  examine all the facts behind this tragedy.  We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence.  We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future.  But what we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other.  That we cannot do," he said.

Results of a new USA Today/Gallup poll found that only 20 percent of Americans believe heated political rhetoric was a major factor influencing the alleged gunman in Tucson.   Forty two percent said it was not a factor, 22 percent said it played a minor role.

As the president was visiting shooting victims and families, a university student, Greg McKormack, commented to reporters about the national debate and what the president's visit meant to him. "You know what, I don't think tonight has anything to do with that.  I think it's basically just saying we in the United States, we're going to stand up against this, it's moments like this that actually pull our country together and who better to be at the center of that than the president of the United States of America," McKormack said.

In his remarks, President Obama cautioned against "simple explanations" for the tragedy.  Referring to Christina Taylor Green, the nine-year-old girl killed in the shootings, he urged Americans toward reflection that avoids what he called "the usual plane of politics, point scoring and pettiness."

"If, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let us remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy.  It did not.  But rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to the challenges of our nation, in a way that would make them proud," he said.

Others taking part were Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer, Attorney General Eric Holder, and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, all of whom read bible portions.  Also addressing a crowd estimated at over 14,000 was Daniel Hernandez, the young volunteer credited with saving congresswoman Giffords life.

Mr. Obama said the selflessness of the heroes on the day of the shootings, along with the loss of the fallen, pose a challenge to Americans to be true to the memories of those who died.

The comparisons for Mr. Obama in Tucson were to speeches other presidents delivered in times of national trauma.  But the national debate surrounding the Arizona shootings has only intensified.

Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008, released a video statement on her Facebook page criticizing journalists and political pundits for suggesting that heated political rhetoric was to blame for the Tucson shootings. "Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible," she said.

Palin was sharply criticized before the November congressional elections for posting a map containing what appeared to be gunsight crosshair symbols marking districts of Democratic lawmakers, including that of Democratic Congresswoman Giffords.

There is now also renewed debate about gun control and security for members of Congress.  Some lawmakers have introduced legislation to ban certain types of high capacity ammunition magazines for guns.

From Tucson, President Obama and his wife Michelle headed back to Washington where among other things the president will be preparing for next week's state visit by China's president.

But he will also be working on drafts of the State of the Union Address he will deliver on January 25, a speech he may use to amplify the strong points he made in Arizona about civility and the tone of the nation's politics.

Final Exits, 1-7 January 2011

Obituaries for 1-7 January 2011

Gerry Rafferty performing in the National Stadium on 6 September 1980. (Photographer: Eddie Mallin.)

1
* Nikolay Abramov, 26, Russian footballer. (Russian)
* Sir Robin Carnegie, 84, British general.
* Marin Constantin, 85, Romanian musician, conductor and composer. (Romanian)
* Charles Fambrough, 60, American jazz musician and composer.
* Gil Garfield, 77, American songwriter and musician (The Cheers), cancer.
* David Gurland, 43, American cabaret singer, brain hemorrhage.
* Bruce Halliday, 84, Canadian physician and politician, MP for Oxford (1974–1993).
* Gerd Michael Henneberg, 88, German actor. (German)
* Flemming Jørgensen, 63, Danish actor and musician (Bamses Venner), heart attack. (Danish)
* Verne Langdon, 69, American musician, record producer and make-up artist.
* John Olguin, 89, American-born Mexican museum director.
* Billy Joe Patton, 88, American golfer.
* Albert Raisner, 88, French television presenter and harmonica player. (French)
* Pradeep Vijayakar, 59, Indian sports journalist (The Times of India), cancer.
* Faizal Yusof, 32, Malaysian actor, heart attack.

2
* Anna Anni, 84, Italian costume designer (Otello).
* Jan van Beek, 85, Dutch journalist. (Dutch)
* Kate Ebli, 52, American politician, member of the Michigan House of Representatives (2006–2010).
* Anne Francis, 80, American actress (Honey West, Forbidden Planet, The Twilight Zone), pancreatic cancer.
* Hanna Kraan, 64, Dutch children's author. (Dutch)
* Émile Masson Jr., 95, Belgian cyclist, winner of Paris–Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne classic cycle races.
* John Osborne, 74, Montserratian politician, Chief Minister (1978–1991; 2001–2006), after long illness.
* Pete Postlethwaite, 64, British actor (In the Name of the Father, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, The Usual Suspects), cancer.
* William R. Ratchford, 76, American politician, Congressman from Connecticut (1979–1985), complications from Parkinson's disease.
* Eliseu Resende, 81, Brazilian senator, intestinal cancer. (Portuguese).
* Miriam Seegar, 103, American silent film actress and interior designer.
* Patricia Smith, 80, American actress (The Spirit of St. Louis, The Bob Newhart Show, The Debbie Reynolds Show), heart failure.
* Letícia Ferreira de Souza, 110, Brazilian supercentenarian. (Portuguese).
* Margot Stevenson, 98, American stage and radio actress (The Shadow).
* Szeto Wah, 79, Hong Kong political activist, lung cancer.
* Robert Trumble, 91, Australian writer and musician.

3
* Ronald Colapinto, 79, Canadian surgeon, liver cancer.
* Jonas Falk, 66, Swedish character actor. (Swedish)
* Geraldo Flach, 65, Brazilian musician and composer, cancer. (Portuguese)
* Fadil Hadžić, 88, Croatian filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright and journalist. (Croatian)
* Jill Haworth, 65, English actress (Exodus, In Harm's Way, Cabaret, The Outer Limits), natural causes.
* Zbigniew Jaremski, 61, Polish Olympic silver medal-winning (1976) athlete. (Polish)
* Raj Kishore Kesari, 51, Indian politician, member of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, stabbed.
* Suchitra Mitra, 86, Indian singer, cardiac arrest.
* Alfred Proksch, 102, Austrian athlete and graphic designer. (German)
* Yosef Shiloach, 69, Israeli actor.
* Paul Soldner, 89, American ceramicist.
* Stanley Tolliver, 85, American attorney and civil rights advocate.
* Nakamura Tomijyuro V, 81, Japanese Kabuki actor. (Japanese)

4
* Hélio Ary, 80, Brazilian actor, Alzheimer's disease. (Portuguese)
* Grady Chapman, 81, American doo-wop singer (The Robins), heart failure.
* Chrysanth, 73, Russian Orthodox Metropolitan of Vyatka-Slobodskoy. (Russian)
* Hadayatullah Hübsch, 64, German journalist. (German)
* Jeff Jacobs, 41, American trumpeter and keyboardist, cancer.
* Mick Karn, 52, Cypriot-born British musician (Japan), cancer.
* Dick King-Smith, 88, British author (The Sheep-Pig, The Water Horse).
* Gustavo Kupinski, 36, Argentine guitarist (Los Piojos), car crash. (Spanish)
* Coen Moulijn, 73, Dutch footballer. (Dutch)
* Ali-Reza Pahlavi, 44, Iranian royal, son of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, suicide by gunshot.
* Gerry Rafferty, 63, Scottish singer-songwriter (Stealers Wheel), liver failure.
* Eva Strittmatter, 80, German author and poet. (German)
* Salmaan Taseer, 66, Pakistani politician, Governor of Punjab (since 2008), shot.
* Grete Helene Wiseth, 25, Norwegian handball player, car accident. (Norwegian)
* Ahmed Yamani, 86, Palestinian leader, founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, stroke.

5
* Nikos Dokas, 76, Greek journalist (Eleftherotypia). (Greek)
* David Hart, 66, British political activist, author and playwright, motor neurone disease.
* Oleksandr Korobchynskyi, 41, Ukrainian politican, Leader of Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Ukraine, shot. (Polish)
* Lily Marinho, 89, Brazilian television executive (Rede Globo) and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, respiratory failure. (Portuguese)
* Malangatana Ngwenya, 74, Mozambican poet and painter, after long illness.
* Agustin Perdices, 76, Filipino politician, Governor of Negros Oriental (since 2010), stomach cancer.
* Assar Rönnlund, 75, Swedish cross-country skier, world and Olympic champion. (Swedish)
* Brian Rust, 88, British jazz discographer and music journalist. (German)
* David G. Trager, 73, American federal judge, pancreatic cancer.
* Keijiro Yamashita, 71, Japanese rockabilly singer. (Japanese)

6
* Ryne Duren, 81, American baseball player (Angels, Phillies, Yankees).
* Gad Granach, 95, German memoirist, son of Alexander Granach.
* Aron Kincaid, 70, American actor (The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini) and voice actor (Batman, The Transformers), heart failure.
* Gary Mason, 48, British boxer, cycling collision.
* Uche Okafor, 43, Nigerian footballer, apparent suicide.
* Jaime Humberto Sánchez Vásquez, Colombian politician, Mayor of Santo Domingo, Antioquia (since 2008), shot. (Spanish)
* Pyotr Sumin, 64, Russian politician, Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast (1996–2010). (Russian)
* Donald J. Tyson, 80, American businessman, Chairman of Tyson Foods (1967–2001), cancer.
* Vang Pao, 81, Lao Hmong community leader, Major General of Royal Lao Army, Commander of the Secret Army, pneumonia.
* Richard Wiedamann, 78, German musician and composer. (German)

7
* Carlos Castro, 65, Portuguese journalist, bludgeoned.
* Tom Cavanagh, 28, American ice hockey player (San Jose Sharks).
* Bill Johnson, 84, American football player (San Francisco 49ers) and coach (Cincinnati Bengals).
* Phil Kennemore, 57, American bassist (Y&T), lung cancer.
* Krzysztof Kolberger, 60, Polish actor, cancer. (Polish)
* Włodzimierz Ławniczak, 51, Polish journalist, Chairman of Telewizja Polska, after long illness. (Polish)
* Geoff Raymond, Australian newsreader, after sudden illness.
* Hélio Saboya, 80, Brazilian lawyer and jurist, lung cancer. (Portuguese)
* Simona Senoner, 17, Italian ski jumper. (Polish)
* Saúl Vara Rivera, Mexican politician, Mayor of Zaragoza, Coahuila (since 2009), shot. (Spanish) (body found on this date)