Final Exits, 22-28 April 2011

Poly Styrene (Photo: Uroica)

Obituaries for 22-28 April 2011

22
* Vernon Olsen, 91, American World War II veteran and survivor of Pearl Harbor attack.
* Moin Akhter, 60, Pakistani actor and comedian, heart attack.
* Cheung Sai Ho, 35, Hong Kong footballer, suicide. (Chinese)
* Wiel Coerver, 86, Dutch footballer and manager. (Dutch)
* Eldon Davis, 94, American architect, creator of Googie architecture.
* Hazel Dickens, 75, American bluegrass singer.
* Annalisa Ericson, 97, Swedish actress (Summer Interlude). (Swedish)
* Mehmet Gedik, 58, Turkish politician, MP for Bursa (1987–1995), shot. (Turkish)
* W. J. Gruffydd, 94, Welsh poet.
* Mikhail Kozakov, 76, Russian actor and director (Nine Days in One Year, The Pokrovka Gate), lung cancer. (Russian)
* Siarhei Lahun, 22, Belarusian weightlifter, car accident.
* Sidney Michaels, 83, American playwright and screenwriter (The Night They Raided Minsky's), Alzheimer's disease.
* Carlos Monden, 73, Chilean-born Mexican actor, complications from anemia and kidney problems. (Spanish)
* Merle Greene Robertson, 97, American artist and archeologist.
* Eyvind Solås, 73, Norwegian musician and television personality. (Norwegian)
* José Torres Martino, 94, Puerto Rican painter and writer, after long illness.

23
* Dmytro Blazheyovskyi, 100, Ukrainian priest, historian, and embroiderer. (Ukrainian)
* Peter Li Hongye, 91, Chinese underground Roman Catholic prelate, clandestine bishop of Luoyang.
* Peter Lieberson, 64, American composer, complications of lymphoma.
* Reinhold Marxhausen, 89, American artist, sound sculptor.
* Huey P. Meaux, 82, American record producer.
* Milorad Bata Mihailović, 88, Serbian painter. (Serbian)
* Norio Ohga, 81, Japanese businessman, president and CEO of Sony, multiple organ failure.
* Noxolo Nogwana, 24, South African lesbian activist, murder.
* Ready Teddy, 23, New Zealand eventing horse, complications from colic.
* Paulo Reis, 50, Brazilian art critic and curator, tuberculosis. (Portuguese)
* Geoffrey Russell, 4th Baron Ampthill, 89, British politician.
* Mohammad Abdus Sattar, 85, Indian Olympic footballer, pneumonia.
* Phillip Shriver, 88, American historian and college administrator.
* John Sullivan, 64, British writer (Only Fools and Horses), viral pneumonia.
* Dutch Tilders, 69, Australian blues musician, cancer.
* Max van der Stoel, 86, Dutch politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1973–1977, 1981–1982).

24
* Sathya Sai Baba, 84, Indian spiritual guru, founder of the Sathya Sai Organization, multiple organ failure.
* Norma Bazúa Fitch, 82, Mexican poet, cardiorespiratory complications. (Spanish)
* Nawang Gombu, 79, Tibetan-born Indian mountaineer, after short illness.
* Alimirah Hanfadhe, 95, Ethiopian sultan of the Aussa Sultanate.
* Sir Denis Mahon, 100, British art historian and philanthropist.
* Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, 87, South Vietnamese First Lady (1955–1963), after an illness. (Vietnamese)
* Marie-France Pisier, 66, French actress (The Other Side of Midnight), drowning.
* Colin Snedden, 93, New Zealand cricketer.

25
* Winrich Behr, 93, German Panzer captain during World War II, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
* Rui Biriva, 53, Brazilian musician, cancer. (Portuguese)
* William Craig, 86, Northern Ireland politician, founder of Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party, MP for Belfast East (1974–1979).
* Abdoulaye Hamani Diori, 65, Nigerian politician, after long illness. (French)
* Emre İncemollaoğlu, 23, Turkish footballer, car accident. (Turkish)
* María Isbert, 94, Spanish actress. (Spanish)
* Don Lancer, 68, American radio news announcer, cancer.
* Islwyn Morris, 90, Welsh actor.
* Joe Perry, 84, American football player (San Francisco 49ers).
* Poly Styrene, 53, British musician (X-Ray Spex), breast cancer.
* Gonzalo Rojas, 93, Chilean poet. (Spanish)
* Avraham Tiar, 87, Israeli politician, member of the Knesset (1961–1969).
* Minoru Tanaka, 44, Japanese actor, suspected suicide by hanging. (Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers, Kamen Rider W Returns - Kamen Rider Accel).
* Stavros Zoras, 70, Greek singer-songwriter, cancer. (Greek)

26
* John Cossette, 54, American television producer (Grammy Awards).
* Roger Gimbel, 86, American Emmy-winning television producer (Chernobyl: The Final Warning, S.O.S. Titanic, The Amazing Howard Hughes), pneumonia.
* José María Izuzquiza Herranz, 85, Spanish-born Peruvian Roman Catholic prelate, Vicar Apostolic of Jaén en Peru (1987–2001).
* Lynn Hauldren, 89, American copywriter and product spokesperson (Empire Carpet).
* Sarantis Karavouzis, 72, Greek painter, after long illness. (Greek)
* Sir Henry Leach, 87, British admiral.
* Jim Mandich, 62, American football player and announcer (Miami Dolphins), bile duct cancer.
* Aage Møst, 88, Norwegian sports official, President of the Norwegian Athletics Association (1956–1965). (Norwegian)
* Sadler's Wells, 30, American racehorse.
* Phoebe Snow, 60, American singer-songwriter ("Poetry Man"), brain hemorrhage.
* Samuel Zoll, 76, American jurist and politician, Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts (1970–1973), gallbladder cancer.

27
* Orlando Bosch, 84, Cuban exile, after long illness.
* Neusinha Brizola, 56, Brazilian singer and cultural producer, daughter of Leonel Brizola, lung complications. (Portuguese)
* Ibrahim Coulibaly, 47, Ivorian militia leader.
* Sofia Fildisi, 74, Greek author, poet, lyricist, politician, and journalist. (Greek)
* Jack H Goaslind, 83, American leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
* Igor Kon, 82, Russian philosopher, psychologist, and sexologist.
* Dag Stokke, 44, Norwegian keyboardist (TNT), church organist and mastering engineer, cancer. (Norwegian)
* Harold Schnitzer, 87, American philanthropist and company executive (Schnitzer Steel), cancer.
* Harry Thuillier, 85, Irish Olympic fencer and radio presenter.
* Alice Ward, 79, American boxing manager, mother of Micky Ward, portrayed by Melissa Leo in The Fighter, cardiac arrest.
* David Wilkerson, 79, American Christian evangelist and author, car accident.

28
* Johan H. Andresen Sr., 80, Norwegian businessman. (Norwegian)
* William Campbell, 84, American film and television actor (Love Me Tender), (Star Trek, Dementia 13).
* Enrique Arancibia Clavel, 66, Chilean DINA agent. (Spanish)
* Erhard Loretan, 52, Swiss mountaineer, third climber to scale all 14 eight-thousanders, climbing accident.
* Peter Moss, 59, British journalist and novelist, explosion.
* Willie O'Neill, 70, Scottish football player (Celtic). (death announced on this date)

Swiss Mountaineer Loretan Dies in Climbing Accident

Friday, 29 April 2011

Police in Switzerland said Friday that famed Swiss mountaineer Erhard Loretan has fallen to his death in a climbing accident on his birthday.

The 52-year-old Loretan died Thursday while guiding a client up the summit ridge of the Gruenhorn in the Bernese Alps. They were at a height of 3,800 meters when, for unknown reasons, the two men fell around 200 meters. Loretan died at the scene, while his companion was flown to a hospital in serious condition.

The Swiss climber was one of just three men to scale all 14 of the world's peaks rising above 8,000-meters, completing the feat at the age of 36. Loretan was also well known for his 1986 nighttime ascent of Mount Everest without using bottled oxygen, in just 40 hours.

Remembering Hazel Dickens

Remembering Hazel Dickens
Katherine Cole, VOA
Washington
27 April 2011

Trailblazing bluegrass and folk singer-songwriter Hazel Dickens recently died at the age of 76.  Dickens was a performer whose childhood in a West Virginia coal mining town led her to become a labor activist and inspired a life-long musical career.

“It’s Hard to Tell The Singer From The Song” is the title track to Hazel Dickens' 1987 solo CD. Many of Hazel’s songs, like “They’ll Never Keep Us Down,” are anthems to working men and women, with the plight of non-unionized workers being a subject close to her heart, as was the coal mining country that she grew up in.

One of Hazel Dickens' most famous is “Black Lung,” written for a brother who died of the disease. Black lung is the common name for any lung disease developing from breathing coal dust.

Hazel Dickens grew up the eighth of 11 children in a poor mining family in West Virginia. Poverty forced her to leave the family home and move to Baltimore, Maryland, where she worked in factories alongside her sister and two brothers.

In a VOA interview several years ago, Hazel said the four attended music gatherings in their rare free time. At one, she met Mike Seeger, the younger brother of folk legend Pete Seeger, and they soon formed a band with her two brothers.

Over the next few years, Hazel became a regular part of the Baltimore and Washington music scene, playing and singing in several bands.

In the early 1960s, she teamed up with Alice Gerrard, and the two spent hours at the United States Library of Congress, researching early folk songs. They recorded only two albums together, but countless female musicians cite Hazel and Alice as influences and continue to perform their songs like “Won’t You Come and Sing For Me.”

Hazel Dickens’ solo career began with the soundtrack to an Academy Award-winning documentary film about a violent miner’s strike. “Harlan County USA” is a very powerful film about a 13-month strike, and it highlights the central role women played. Hazel has four songs on the soundtrack, including “They’ll Never Keep Us Down.”

Songs like that one are a reason that Hazel Dickens was called the “voice of the working class.” While many come from her own life, Hazel’s songs are ones that many people, not just those working down deep in coal mines or in factories can identify with.

Hazel Dickens lived in Washington for many years and, despite bouts of ill health, performed at the South by Southwest music conference just a month before her death.  She received many honors and accolades over her long career, including membership in the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, a lifetime achievement award from the Folk Alliance International,and on April 16 of this year Hazel was given the Washington Monument award by the D.C. Bluegrass Union.

Cuban Militant Bosch Dies at 84

Wednesday, 27 April 2011

Orlando Bosch, a prominent Cuban exile militant and fierce foe of former President Fidel Castro, has died. He was 84 years old.

A family friend says Bosch died Wednesday after a “long and painful illness.” The cause of death was not immediately released.

Bosch was one of several Cuban exile militants who fought Fidel Castro's regime from abroad through sabotage operations. In 1976, he and former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles were arrested in Venezuela and accused of involvement in the bombing of a Cuban jetliner that year.

Both men were later acquitted of plotting the attack, which killed 73 people.

In a 2005 interview with the Miami Herald newspaper, Bosch said the truth about the airplane bombing would be revealed in recordings and documents published after his death.

Bosch settled in the Miami area after the Cuban revolution that brought Mr. Castro to power in 1959. He had originally supported the revolution but later turned against the Cuban leader.

Vietnam's 'Dragon Lady' Dies in Exile

Madame Ngô Đình Nhu and Lyndon Baines Johnson, 12 May 1961.  (Photo: United States Federal Government/LBJ Library)

Vietnam’s 'Dragon Lady' Dies in Exile
Wednesday, 27 April 2011

The woman who was once first lady of the country then known as South Vietnam has died in Rome, where she had been living in exile.

Italian officials announced Wednesday that Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, who served as official hostess to her unmarried brother-in-law, President Ngo Dinh Diem, died on Sunday at an estimated age of 87.

Madame Nhu's husband, the president's brother, had served as head of Vietnam's secret police.

Born Tran Le Xuan, a name meaning “beautiful spring,” she gained a reputation for being assertive and outspoken. Americans nicknamed her “the Dragon Lady” after a character in a popular comic.

She fled into exile after both her husband and the president died in a coup in 1963.

Singer Phoebe Snow of 'Poetry Man' Fame Dies

Singer Phoebe Snow of 'Poetry Man' Fame Dies
Tuesday, 26 April 2011

U.S. singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, best known for her 1975 smash hit “Poetry Man,” has died.

Snow's manager said she died of complications from a stroke she suffered last year.

The New York-born Snow was widely known as a folk guitarist who also was adept at blues and jazz.

She dropped out of show business at the height of her fame in the mid 1970s to care for her daughter, who was born with severe brain damage.

Snow occasionally would return to the spotlight to make albums, do concert tours, and record television commercials.

She was one of former president Bill Clinton's favorite singers, and performed for him several times at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.

Indian Guru Dies

Indian Guru Dies
Sunday, 24 April 2011

Sathya Sai Baba, one of India's most famous holy men, has died.

He died of heart failure Sunday morning in a hospital near his ashram in Puttaparti village in southern Andhra Pradesh state. He had been hospitalized since late last month.

The 85-year-old Hindu guru, who always dressed in orange robes with his afro-style hairdo, was considered a living god by his worldwide followers.

India has ordered a heavy police deployment to Puttaparti for the hundreds of thousands of devotees expected to make the pilgrimage there for Sai Baba's funeral.

Sai Baba claimed to be the reincarnation of another holy man, Sai Baba of Shirdi, who died in 1918.

From his ashram in Puttaparti, Sai Baba built an empire of schools and health centers that helped to spread his influence.

While his charitable work and teachings brought Sai Baba public respectability, his showman antics in which he would miraculously produce gold coins or watches on stage at public events also brought him critics and notoriety.

Man Who Helped Pioneer Music CD Dies

Man Who Helped Pioneer Music CD Dies
Sunday, 24 April 2011

The aspiring opera singer and Sony executive credited with the creation and success of the compact disc has died.

Sony said former president and chairman Norio Ohga died Saturday in Tokyo of multiple organ failure at the age of 81.

Sony executives persuaded Ohga to give up on a career in opera and join the company in the 1950s after he complained about the sound quality of Sony’s tape recorders.

Ohga rose quickly within the company to become a key executive, and helped pioneer work on the compact disc, or CD, promising it would one day overtake records as a main platform for selling music.

It was also upon Ohga’s insistence that the CD was designed to be 12 centimeters in diameter and hold 74 minutes worth of music – enough to hold the entirety of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Sony introduced the CD in 1982, the same year Ohga became Sony president. The Associated Press reports that five years later, CD sales overtook record sales in Japan.

Ohga remained as Sony president until 1995, and then stayed on at Sony as chairman for several more years.

He is also credited with molding Sony into an entertainment giant with the purchase of the Columbia Pictures movie studio, now Sony Pictures Entertainment, in 1989 and the creation of Sony’s PlayStation video gaming division.

Ohga graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and the Berlin University of the Arts. He continued to support classical music throughout his life, supporting young musicians and concerts in Japan.

Current Sony Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer said Saturday that it was Ohga’s ‘foresight and vision’ that helped Sony expand beyond audio and video products and turn into a global entertainment leader.

Top British Sitcom Writer John Sullivan Dies

Top British Sitcom Writer John Sullivan Dies
Saturday, 23 April 2011

British comedy writer John Sullivan, the creator of the much loved Only Fools and Horses television sitcom, has died. He was 64 years old.

British media say Sullivan died Saturday at a hospital in Surrey, south of London, battling viral pneumonia. He leaves behind wife Sharon, three children and two grandchildren.

Sullivan also wrote classics of the 1970s and 1980s including Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends, but it was his work on Only Fools and Horses that made him a much loved writer in television circles.

Actor David Jason, who played Del Boy in the sitcom, said, “Britain has lost the greatest comedy writer, but he also leaves us a great legacy — the gift of laughter.”

BBC Director General Mark Thompson said, “John Sullivan had a unique gift for turning everyday life and characters into unforgettable comedy.”

Final Exits, 15-21 April 2011

Elisabeth Sladen, standing outside Forbidden Planet in London, 2003. (Photo: Danacea)

Obituaries for 15-21 April 2011

15
* Vittorio Arrigoni, 36, Italian activist, hanged. (body discovered on this date)
* Babu Baral, 47, Pakistani comedian, cancer.
* Reno Bertoia, 76, Italian-born Canadian baseball player (Detroit Tigers), lymphoma.
* Hélio Gueiros, 85, Brazilian politician, Governor of Pará (1987–1991), renal disease. (Portuguese)
* Vincenzo La Scola, 53, Italian tenor, heart attack.
* Khan Mohammad Mujahid, Afghan police chief of Kandahar, suicide bomb.
* Bobo Osborne, 75, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers).
* Nicholas Selby, 85, British actor.
* Beryl Shipley, 84, American basketball coach (University of Louisiana at Lafayette, San Diego Conquistadors).
* Melih Yalman, 64, Turkish journalist, lung cancer. (Turkish)

16
* Gerry Alexander, 82, Jamaican cricketer.
* Bijan, 67, Iranian-born American fashion designer, stroke.
* Allan Blakeney, 85, Canadian politician, Premier of Saskatchewan (1971–1982), complications from liver cancer.
* Chinesinho, 76, Brazilian footballer, Alzheimer's disease. (Portuguese)
* Bill Kinnamon, 91, American Major League Baseball umpire.
* Serge LeClerc, 61, Canadian pardoned criminal and politician, MLA for Saskatoon Northwest (2007–2010), complications from colon and bowel cancer.
* Alfonso Martínez, 74, Spanish Olympic basketball player. (Spanish)
* William A. Rusher, 87, American columnist, publisher of National Review (1957–1988).
* Dan Monroe Russell, Jr., 98, American federal judge, natural causes.
* Sol Saks, 100, American screenwriter, creator of Bewitched.
* Bhawani Singh, 79, Indian noble, titular Maharaja of Jaipur (since 1970).
* Hermod Skånland, 85, Norwegian Central Bank governor (1985–1993). (Norwegian)
* Harold Volkmer, 80, American politician, U.S. Representative from Missouri (1977–1997), pneumonia.

17
* Nasser Al-Kharafi, 67, Kuwaiti businessman (M. A. Kharafi & Sons), heart attack.
* Carlo Capponi, 58, Italian janitor and reality contestant, heart attack. (Italian)
* Joel Colton, 92, American historian, heart failure.
* Osamu Dezaki, 67, Japanese animator (Space Adventure Cobra, Tomorrow's Joe), lung cancer. (Japanese)
* Eric Gross, 84, Austrian-born Australian composer.
* Eddie Leadbeater, 83, British cricketer, after short illness.
* Blair Milan, 29, Australian actor and television presenter, acute myeloid leukaemia.
* Nikos Papazoglou, 63, Greek singer-songwriter, cancer.
* AJ Perez, 18, Filipino actor, traffic accident.
* Mary Robbins, 78, American musician, mother of Tim Robbins, heart arrhythmia.
* Raúl Sánchez Díaz Martell, 96, Mexican politician, Governor of Baja California (1965–1971).
* Michael Sarrazin, 70, Canadian actor (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, The Flim-Flam Man, For Pete's Sake), cancer.
* Dennis E. Stowell, 66, American politician, member of the Utah State Senate (2007–2011), cancer.
* Lynne Topping, 61, American actress (The Young and the Restless).
* Robert Vickrey, 84, American artist.
* Victor Ward, 87, Canadian pilot, survivor of the 1956 Springhill Mine disaster, after long illness.

18
* Olubayo Adefemi, 25, Nigerian footballer, car accident.
* Sadiq Ali, 58, Indian politician.
* Juan Pedro Domecq, 69, Spanish breeder of fighting bulls, car accident.
* Pietro Ferrero Jr., 47, Italian businessman (Ferrero SpA), bicycle accident.
* Kjell Håkonsen, 75, Norwegian harness racer and trainer. (Norwegian)
* Joe Pavia, 72, Filipino journalist, lung cancer.
* Mason Rudolph, 76, American golfer.
* Giovanni Saldarini, 86, Italian cardinal, Archbishop of Turin (1989–1999), natural causes. (Italian)
* William Donald Schaefer, 89, American politician, Governor of Maryland (1987–1995), pneumonia.
* Ivica Vidović, 72, Croatian actor, after long illness. (Croatian)

19
* Roy Burris, 79, American drummer (Merle Haggard), heart complications.
* Lynn Chandnois, 86, American football player (Pittsburgh Steelers).
* Norm Masters, 77, American football player (Green Bay Packers), cancer.
* Serge Nubret, 72, French bodybuilder and actor (Pumping Iron).
* Elisabeth Sladen, 65, British actress (Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures), cancer.
* Grete Waitz, 57, Norwegian Olympic silver medal-winning (1984) marathon runner, cancer.

20
* Allan Brown, 84, Scottish football player and manager (Blackpool, Scotland).
* Tim Hetherington, 40, British photojournalist and filmmaker (Restrepo), mortar attack in 2011 Libyan civil war.
* Chris Hondros, 41, American photojournalist, mortar attack in 2011 Libyan civil war.
* Osvaldo Miranda, 95, Argentine actor (Cita en las estrellas).
* Madelyn Pugh, 90, American screenwriter (I Love Lucy, Here's Lucy, The Mothers-in-Law).
* Tul Bahadur Pun, 88, Nepali World War II veteran, recipient of the Victoria Cross, cardiac complications.
* Franky Sahilatua, 57, Indonesian musician, complications from spinal cancer. (Indonesian)
* Gerard Smith, 36, American musician (TV on the Radio), lung cancer.
* Kerry Smith, New Zealand actress and broadcaster, melanoma.
* Antonio Tauriello, 80, Argentine composer. (Spanish)

21
* Beverly Barton, American romance author.
* Tine Bryld, 71, Danish social worker, writer, radio host and letters editor. (Danish)
* Helen J. Frye, 80, American federal judge, after long illness.
* Jess Stonestreet Jackson, Jr., 81, American wine entrepreneur, founder of Kendall-Jackson, cancer.
* Max Mathews, 84, American engineer and computer music composer, complications from pneumonia.
* Yoshiko Tanaka, 55, Japanese actress (Godzilla vs. Biollante) and singer (Candies), breast cancer. (Japanese)
* Gaylen Young, 59, American newscaster, car accident.

Award Winning Filmmaker Dies in Misrata

Tim Hetherington at a photo session in Huambo, Angola in 2002. (Photo: Michael von Bergen)

VOA News
Award Winning Filmmaker Dies in Misrata
Penelope Poulou
Washington
21 April 2011

Two Western photojournalists were killed Wednesday in the Libyan city of Misrata while covering battles between rebels and Libyan government forces. Chris Hondros was a photographer for Getty Images. Tim Hetherington was the acclaimed director of the 2010 documentary Restrepo, about U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan fighting to hold a tiny outpost surrounded by Taliban fighters.

The fighting Wednesday on Misrata's Tripoli Street was fierce. Four western journalists were hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Two of them lost their lives.

Chris Hondros, an American  photojournalist for Getty Images, was one. 

The other was British filmmaker Tim Hetherington.

His film, Restrepo, won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Subsequently, the film was nominated for an Oscar.

The film was shot in 2007 and 2008 at a remote outpost in the war-ridden Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan. There, Hetherington and co-director Sebastian Junger spent months recording U.S. soldiers fighting off the Taliban. They documented the hopes and fears amid the desperate attempt to hold on to the tiny outpost, called Restrepo after a fallen comrade.  

Hetherington and Junger won praise for capturing the harrowing face of combat and for humanizing the soldiers whose lives were on the line. One sees bullets ricocheting just inches from the camera.

In an interview at Sundance, Hetherington explained to VOA why he made the film.

"There are 22 million Americans, families, military families that have people that have served in the military or currently serving and a lot of these families never really knew what it’s like. What their sons, brothers, wives are doing. And we hope that the film can communicate that really important experience to them," he said.

Like many of the soldiers in his film, Hetherington said he became almost attached to the adrenaline rush of war. "It’s funny. People watch the film and they say ’Wow, filming in Afghanistan that must be crazy. How do you do that?’ In some ways, like soldiers being in a war, it’s almost easier to do that than to come back to reality. Or come back to the home life. So, for me, coming back from Afghanistan, the easier was filming there .....," he said.

But more than anything, Hetherington said he felt the duty to portray the sacrifice of those who fight for a good cause.

"This film is a non-political film. It’s not whether you feel the war is right or wrong. It’s the fact that there are young men out there who are fighting on behalf of this country and their experience deserves to be understood. That’s what the film is about," he said.

Hetherington recognized that his life choices did not leave space for a family. But he said at some point he would like to settle down and have children.

"In my head, if I want to hold a relationship, I have to stop what I’m doing. I haven’t reached that point yet," Hetherington said.

Like Chris Hondros who also died covering armed conflict, he never got the chance. He lost his life while memorializing yet another war.

Final Exits, 8-14 April 2011

Arthur Marx, American writer, son of Groucho Marx.

Obituaries for 8-14 April 2011

8
* Daniel Catán, 62, Mexican composer.
* David S. Clarke, 69, Australian businessman, chairman of Macquarie Group (1985–2007), stomach cancer.
* Jorge Ledo, 68, Argentine football official, president of Club Olimpo, after long illness. (Spanish)
* John McCracken, 76, American sculptor.
* Lazaros Mourkakos, 43, Greek sports journalist, stroke. (Greek)
* Nafsika Pastra, 89, Greek sculptor. (Greek)
* Bill Pitcock, 59, American musician (Dwight Twilley).
* John Pugsley, 77, American libertarian speaker and writer.
* Alex Leo Şerban, 51, Romanian writer and film critic, lymphoma. (Romanian)
* Donald Shanks, 70, Australian operatic bass-baritone, heart attack.
* Jiří Skoupil, 46, Czech rally driver, road accident. (Czech)
* Vasilijs Stepanovs, 83, Latvian weightlifter and Olympic silver medalist (1956 Melbourne). (Latvian)
* Hedda Sterne, 100, Romanian-born American painter and printmaker.
* Monica Vasileiou, 75, Greek-born Cypriot actress, cancer. (Greek)
* Jeniffer Viturino, 17, Brazilian model, fall. (Portuguese)
* Elena Zuasti, 75, Uruguayan stage actress and comedienne, heart failure. (Spanish)

9
* Pierre Celis, 86, Belgian brewer (Celis), cancer. (Dutch)
* Nicholas Goodhart, 91, British marine engineer and glider pilot.
* Reali Júnior, 71, Brazilian journalist (Jovem Pan, O Estado de S. Paulo), cancer. (Portuguese)
* Jerry Lawson, 70, American videogame console engineer.
* Sidney Lumet, 86, American film director (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Network), lymphoma.
* Roger Nichols, 66, American sound engineer and record producer (Steely Dan), pancreatic cancer.
* Leonidas Paliogiorgos, 69, Greek navarch, chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (1996–1998). (Greek)
* Orrin Tucker, 100, American orchestra leader.
* Randy Wood, 94, American record producer, founder of Dot Records.

10
* Jimmy Briggs, 74, Scottish footballer (Dundee United).
* Bill Brill, 79, American sportswriter and newspaper editor, esophageal cancer.
* Violet Cowden, 94, American WASP pilot, heart failure.
* Don Merton, 72, New Zealand conservationist.
* Sylwester Olszewski, 31, Polish rally driver, road accident.
* Mikhail Rusyayev, 46, Russian footballer. (Russian)
* Bob Shaw, 89, American football player (Los Angeles Rams).
* Homer Smith, 79, American football coach (Army Black Knights), cancer.
* Francis E. Sweeney, 77, American jurist, Ohio Supreme Court justice (1993–2004).
* Michalis Tsagaras, 52, Greek rally driving champion. (Greek)
* Stephen Watson, 56, South African writer and critic, cancer.

11
* Billy Bang, 63, American jazz violinist, lung cancer.
* Lewis Binford, 80, American archaeologist, heart failure.
* Lacy Gibson, 74, American blues musician, heart attack.
* Billy Gray, 83, English footballer (Nottingham Forest).
* Ruşen Hakkı, 75, Turkish writer, journalist and poet, renal failure. (Turkish)
* Murtaza Hassan, Pakistani stage comedian, hepatitis and liver cancer.
* Juan Lobos Krause, 50, Chilean deputy, road accident. (Spanish)
* Simon Milton, 49, British politician, London Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning, after short illness.
* Andrei Mutulescu, 23, Romanian footballer, cardiac arrest.
* Peter Ruehl, 64, American-born Australian columnist.
* Angela Scoular, 65, British actress, suicide by poisoning.
* Larry Sweeney, 30, American professional wrestler and manager, suicide by hanging.

12
* Luis Benedit, 73, Argentine painter and architect, complications from pneumonia. (Spanish)
* Sachin Bhowmick, 80, Indian screenwriter, heart attack.
* Ronnie Coyle, 46, Scottish footballer (Celtic, Raith Rovers), leukemia.
* John D'Orazio, 55, Australian politician, member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for Ballajura (2001–2008), heart attack during surgery.
* Sidney Harman, 92, American businessman and publisher (Newsweek), acute myeloid leukemia.
* Eddie Joost, 94, American baseball player and manager (Philadelphia Athletics).
* Serginho Leite, 55, Brazilian comedian and radio host, heart attack (Portuguese)
* Jānis Polis, 72, Latvian pharmacologist, discovered rimantadine. (Russian)
* Ioan Şişeştean, 74, Romanian Catholic hierarch, Bishop of Maramureş (since 1994).
* Désiré Tagro, 52, Ivorian politician, former Interior Minister.
* Miroslav Tichý, 84, Czech photographer.

13
* Hunter Bryce, 30, American adult performer. (body found on this date)
* Danny Fiszman, 66, British football director (Arsenal), cancer.
* Buster Martin, 104?, French-born British longevity claimant.
* Seeta bint Abdul Aziz, 80, Saudi Arabian royal, sister of King Abdullah, after long illness.
* Zdeněk Vašíček, 78, Czech philosopher. (Czech)

14
* Trevor Bannister, 76, British actor (Are You Being Served?, Last of the Summer Wine, The Dustbinmen), heart attack.
* Joe Battipaglia, 55, American financial analyst.
* Walter Breuning, 114, American supercentenarian, world's oldest living man at time of his death.
* Louis Jean Dufaux, 79, French Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Grenoble (1989–2006).
* Bernie Flowers, 81, American football player (Baltimore Colts).
* Joe Dan Gold, 68, American college basketball player and coach (Mississippi State Bulldogs), after long illness.
* Jean Gratton, 86, Canadian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Mont-Laurier (1978–2001).
* Cyrus Harvey, 85, American entrepreneur, stroke.
* William Lipscomb, 91, American Nobel Prize-winning chemist, pneumonia.
* Arthur Marx, 89, American writer, son of Groucho Marx.
* Rami Reddy, 52, Indian actor, kidney failure.
* Wilton Wynn, 90, American journalist and foreign correspondent, after long illness.

World’s Oldest Man Dies

Picture of Walter Breuning, taken 8 April 2010 (Photo: Fred Pfeiffer)

World’s Oldest Man Dies
Thursday, 14 April 2011

The world's oldest man, U.S. citizen Walter Breuning, has died at the age of 114.

An official at the retirement home where Breuning lived in Montana says he passed away on Thursday.

He had been hospitalized since the beginning of April with an undisclosed illness.

In an interview with the Associated Press last year, Breuning attributed his longevity to eating just two meals a day, working as long as he could, and never being afraid to die.

Breuning was born on September 21, 1896 in Minnesota. He worked for a railroad for 50 years.

Final Exits, 1-7 April 2011

The picture sleeve of a 1984 "Where's the Beef" single, recorded by Nashville songwriter/DJ Coyote McCloud and Clara Peller, based on her advertisement catchphrase.

Obituaries for 1-7 April 2011

1
* Lou Gorman, 82, American baseball executive and general manager (Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners).
* Jane Gregory, 51, British Olympic equestrian, heart attack.
* Georgy Gryaznov, 77, Russian Orthodox Archbishop of Chelyabinsk and Zlatoust (1989–1996), stroke. (Russian)
* Manning Marable, 60, American professor (Columbia University).
* Edel Ojeda, 82, Mexican Olympic boxer. (Spanish)
* Siri Skare, 52, Norwegian lieutenant colonel, first Norwegian female military pilot. (Norwegian)
* Mar Varkey Vithayathil, 83, Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic hierarch, Cardinal (from 2001), Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly (from 1999).
* Brynle Williams, 62, Welsh activist (fuel protests) and politician, AM for North Wales (from 2003).

2
* Reshat Bardhi, 76, Albanian religious figure, head of the Bektashi order.
* Larry Finch, 60, American basketball player and coach (Memphis Tigers).
* John C. Haas, 92, American businessman (Rohm and Haas), natural causes.
* Efrain Loyola, 94, Cuban flautist.
* James McNulty, 92, Canadian politician, MP for Lincoln (1962–1968) and St. Catharines (1968–1972).
* Ragnar Nygren, 72, Swedish rock and roll musician, cancer. (Swedish)
* Tom Silverio, 65, Dominican-born American baseball player (California Angels). (Spanish)
* Bill Varney, 77, American Oscar-winning sound editor (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back).

3
* Rafique Alam, 81, Indian politician, heart attack.
* Amy Applegren, 83, American baseball player (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League).
* Ulli Beier, 88, German writer.
* William Henry Bullock, 83, American Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Des Moines (1987–1993) and Madison (1993–2003), lung cancer.
* Martin Horton, 76, English cricketer, after long illness.
* Edith Klestil, 78, Austrian first lady (1992–1998), first wife of President Thomas Klestil, cancer. (German) (death announced on this date)
* Yevgeny Lyadin, 84, Russian midfielder footballer. (Russian)
* Marian Pankowski, 91, Polish writer. (Polish)
* Calvin Russell, 62, American protest singer-songwriter and guitarist.
* Mandi Schwartz, 23, Canadian college ice hockey player, acute myeloid leukemia.
* Gustavo Sondermann, 29, Brazilian racing driver, race crash. (Portuguese)
* John A. Tory, 81, Canadian lawyer and corporate executive, stroke.

4
* John Adler, 51, American politician, U.S. Representative from New Jersey (2009–2011), infective endocarditis.
* Edward Bigelow, 93, American dancer and administrator of the New York City Ballet, car accident.
* Scott Columbus, 54, American drummer (Manowar).
* Dosta Dimovska, 57, Macedonian poet and politician, after short illness.
* Hanni Gehring, 84, German Olympic cross country skier. (German) (death announced on this date)
* Jackson Lago, 76, Brazilian politician, Governor of Maranhão (2007–2009), cancer. (Portuguese)
* Ned McWherter, 80, American politician, Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1973–1987) and Governor (1987–1995), cancer.
* Juliano Mer-Khamis, 52, Israeli actor and political activist, shot.
* Tonia Nikolaidi, 84, Greek engraver. (Greek)
* Witta Pohl, 73, German actress, leukemia. (German)
* Wayne Robson, 64, Canadian actor.
* Craig Thomas, 68, Welsh author, pneumonia.
* Juan Tuñas, 93, Cuban footballer. (Spanish)
* Vakur Versan, 94, Turkish legal scholar, author and professor (Istanbul University). (Turkish)
* Boško Vuksanović, 83, Croatian Olympic silver medal-winning (1952) water polo player. (Croatian)
* Tassos Zografos, 85, Greek painter, stage and art director, after short illness. (Greek)

5
* Baruch Samuel Blumberg, 85, American doctor, Nobel laureate in medicine, heart attack.
* Ann Loeb Bronfman, 78, American philanthropist, complications from empheseyma.
* Nikiforos Naneris, 71, Greek actor, kidney failure. (Greek)
* Ange-Félix Patassé, 74, Central African politician, Prime Minister (1976–1978) and President (1993–2003).
* Gil Robbins, 80, American folk singer (The Highwaymen), father of Tim Robbins.
* Larry Shepard, 92, American baseball manager (Pittsburgh Pirates) and coach (Cincinnati Reds).
* Peter Stelzer, 66, American Emmy-winning television producer (Miss Evers' Boys) and actor (Voyage of the Rock Aliens).
* Manolis Stratas, 32, Greek motorcycle racing champion, traffic collision. (Greek)

6
* Thøger Birkeland, 89, Danish children's book author. (Danish)
* Jim Blair, 64, Scottish footballer, natural causes.
* John Bottomley, 50, Canadian singer-songwriter, suicide.
* Mike Campbell, 78, Zimbabwean farmer who challenged Robert Mugabe (Campbell v Zimbabwe), complications from torture.
* L. J. Davis, 70, American writer.
* Coyote McCloud, 68, American disc jockey.
* Patricia Miccio, 56, Argentine television host, model and fashion designer, breast cancer.
* Johnny Morris, 87, English footballer.
* Skip O'Brien, 60, American actor (CSI).
* Enterbio Reyes Bello, 41, Mexican politician, Mayor of Copanatoyac, shot. (Spanish)
* F. Gordon A. Stone, 85, British chemist.
* Sujatha, 58, Indian actress.

7
* François Chassagnite, 55, French jazz trumpeter and singer. (French)
* Bruce Cowan, 85, Australian politician, member of the House of Representatives (1980–1993).
* Edward Edwards, 77, American serial killer, natural causes.
* Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton, 92, British aristocrat.
* Pierre Gauvreau, 88, Canadian painter and television screenplay writer. (French)
* Tal Herzberg, 41, Israeli-born American record producer, sound engineer and musician, illness.
* Blažena Holišová, 80, Czech film and theatre actress. (Czech)
* Arthur Lessac, 101, American voice trainer.
* E. J. McGuire, 58, Canadian ice hockey coach and scout, cancer.
* Giorgos Moschous, 67, Greek rally driving champion, cancer. (Greek)
* Hedzer Rijpstra, 91, Dutch politician. (Dutch)

Prominent US Film Director Sidney Lumet Dies at 86

Sidney Lumet at the September 2007 Toronto International Film Festival (Photo: gdcgraphics)

Prominent US Film Director Sidney Lumet Dies at 86

Saturday, 9 April 2011

Sidney Lumet, who directed such Hollywood film classics as Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Network, has died at the age of 86.

Lumet, with more than 50 films to his credit over the last six decades, died Saturday of lymphoma at his home in New York.

Lumet began his professional career at the age of 4, on a radio show in the late 1920s, and later appeared in Broadway plays in New York. But he achieved his greatest success as a film director. One of his best was his first, the 1957 courtroom drama 12 Angry Men. It portrayed 12 jurors as they tried to reach a verdict in the trial of a young Hispanic man wrongly accused of murder.

Lumet's films often depicted the grittier side of New York, such as Dog Day Afternoon, the true-life story of two social misfits who tried to rob a bank on a hot summer afternoon. Another film, Serpico, explored the corruptibility of New York police officers.

Critics often said his most memorable film was Network, a scathing view of the television business. American film aficionados can often recall a memorable line from the movie, when a crazed newscaster, played by actor Peter Finch, exhorted his audience to open their windows and shout, “I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!”

Lumet received four best director nominations for Oscars in Hollywood's annual celebration of the film industry but never won. He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2005 for “brilliant services” to screenwriters and actors over the years.

Final Exits, 29-31 March 2011

Obituaries for 29-31 March 2011

29
* Sabah al-Bazee, 30, Iraqi journalist and photographer (Reuters), explosion.
* José Alencar, 79, Brazilian entrepreneur and politician, Vice-President (2003–2010), multiple organ failure.
* Bob Benny, 84, Belgian singer.
* Iakovos Kambanelis, 88, Greek author, playwright, poet, lyricist and journalist, kidney failure. (Greek)
* Anastasia Papagoula, 72, Greek journalist (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation). (Greek)
* Neil Reimer, 89, Canadian politician, Leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party (1962–1968).
* Jim Seymour, 64, American football player (Chicago Bears).
* Alan Tang, 64, Hong Kong actor, film producer and director, stroke.
* Robert Tear, 72, British opera singer, cancer.

30
* Jacques Amir, 78, Israeli politician. (Hebrew)
* Ângelo de Sousa, 73, Portuguese artist. (Portuguese)
* Jack Fulk, 78, American businessman, co-founder of Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits.
* Tamar Golan, 76, Israeli journalist and diplomat.
* Lyudmila Gurchenko, 75, Russian film actress and singer, People's Artist of the USSR. (Russian)
* Víctor Licandro, 93, Uruguayan politician, journalist and military, founder of Broad Front. (Spanish)
* Denis McLean, 80, New Zealand diplomat, academic, author and civil servant.
* Nutan Prasad, 65, Indian actor, after long illness.
* Liaquat Soldier, 56, Pakistani comedian, heart attack.
* Tan Tiong Hong, Malaysian politician, former deputy minister.
* Babis Tsikliropoulos, 72, Greek playwright and lyricist. (Greek)

31
* Tony Barrell, 70, British-born Australian broadcaster and writer.
* Gil Clancy, 88, American Hall of Fame boxing trainer.
* Alan Fitzgerald, 75, Australian journalist, cancer.
* Ndeye Marie Ndiaye Gawlo, 49, Senegalese singer. (French)
* Claudia Heill, 29, Austrian judoka, silver medalist at the 2004 Summer Olympics, suicide.
* Don Hill, 66, American nightclub owner and impresario.
* Vassili Kononov, 88, Russian military veteran and war criminal. (Latvian)
* Dimitris Laletas, 47, Greek painter, cancer. (Greek)
* Mel McDaniel, 68, American country music singer, cancer.
* Mir-Ismail Mousavi, 103, Iranian businessman, father of Mir-Hossein Mousavi. (Persian)
* Edward Stobart, 56, British haulage contractor and entrepreneur.

Final Exits, 22-28 March 2011

Richard Leacock carrying a 16mm Aaton camera with a Narda Blanchet leather blimp, 1983. (Photo: G. Andrew Boyd for R. Leacock/Canary Banana Films)

Obituaries for 22-28 March 2011

22
* Artur Agostinho, 90, Portuguese sports journalist and actor. (Portuguese)
* Nadia Barentin, 74, French actress (Les Blessures assassines). (French)
* Victor Bouchard, 84, Canadian pianist, duettist with pianist Renée Morisset, respiratory disease.
* Patrick Doeplah, 20, Liberian footballer.
* Keith Fordyce, 82, British radio and television presenter (Ready Steady Go!).
* Syd Kitchen, 59, South African musician.
* Viljar Loor, 57, Estonian Olympic gold medal-winning (1980) volleyball player. (Estonian)
* Jean-Guy Morissette, 73, Canadian ice hockey player.
* Zoogz Rift, 57, American musician, painter and professional wrestler.
* Normie Roy, 82, American baseball player (Boston Braves).
* Reuven Shefer, 85, Israeli actor. (Hebrew)
* José Soriano, 93, Peruvian football player. (Spanish)
* Frankie Sparcello, American thrash metal bassist (Exhorder).
* Helen Stenborg, 86, American actress.
* George Alfred Walker, 81, British businessman, founder of Brent Walker.

23
* José Argüelles, 72, American New Age author.
* Jean Bartik, 86, American computer programmer (ENIAC).
* Liana Duval, 83, Brazilian actress. (Portuguese)
* Frank Howard, 85, Canadian politician, member of the BC Legislative Assembly for Skeena (1953–1956; 1979–1986) and MP for Skeena (1957–1974).
* Živorad Kovačević, 80, Serbian diplomat. (Serbian)
* Sir Frank Lampl, 84, British businessman.
* Richard Leacock, 89, British documentary film maker (Louisiana Story, Primary, Monterey Pop, Janis).
* Teodor Negoiţă, 63, Romanian polar explorer and scientist. (Romanian)
* Zorko Rajčić, 81, Croatian actor. (Croatian)
* Trevor Storton, 61, English footballer.
* Dame Elizabeth Taylor, 79, British-American actress (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cleopatra, BUtterfield 8), heart failure.
* Fred Titmus, 78, English test cricketer.
* Leonard Weinglass, 78, American civil rights lawyer, pancreatic cancer.
* Peter Paul Zerafa, 82, Maltese Angelicum sacred scripture professor.

24
* Julian Gbur, 68, Polish-born Ukrainian Catholic hierarch, Bishop of Stryi (since 2000). (Ukrainian)
* William M. Greathouse, 91, American Nazarene minister, heart failure.
* Dudley Laws, 76, Jamaican-born Canadian civil rights activist, kidney disease.
* Anselmo Müller, 79, Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Januária (1984–2008).
* Perumbadavam Sreedharan, 73, Indian Malayalam author and journalist.
* Gloria Valencia de Castaño, 83, Colombian television host, respiratory failure. (Spanish)
* Lanford Wilson, 73, American playwright.

25
* Floyd Bedbury, 73, American Olympic speed skater, cancer.
* José Luis Cerda, 33, Mexican television personality, shot.
* Thomas Eisner, 81, American biologist, Parkinson's disease.
* Luis María Estrada Paetau, 75, Guatemalan Roman Catholic prelate, Vicar Apostolic of Izabal (1977–2004).
* Thomaz Farkas, 86, Hungarian-born Brazilian photographer, multiple organ failure. (Portuguese)
* Maria Isakova, 92, Soviet speed skater.
* Pavel Leonov, 90, Russian naïve artist. (Russian)
* M. Blane Michael, 68, American federal judge.
* Hugo Midón, 67, Argentine theatre director and actor, after long illness. (Spanish)
* Irving Shulman, 96, American retailer, heart failure.
* Olga Ulyanova, 89, Russian writer and chemist, niece of Vladimir Lenin.
* Floor van der Wal, 26, Dutch comedian, hit and run. (Dutch)
* Thady Wyndham-Quin, 7th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, 71, Irish aristocrat.

26
* Roger Abbott, 64, Canadian actor and comedian (Royal Canadian Air Farce), chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
* Joe Bageant, 64, American writer, social critic and political commentator, cancer.
* Paul Baran, 84, American Internet pioneer, complications from lung cancer.
* Aleksandr Barykin, 59, Russian musician, heart attack. (Russian)
* Carl Bunch, 71, American drummer (Buddy Holly and the Crickets).
* Greg Centauro, 34, French pornographic actor, cardiac arrest. (French)
* Harry Coover, 94, American inventor (Super Glue).
* Lula Côrtes, 61, Brazilian musician (Paêbirú), throat cancer. (Portuguese)
* Cibele Dorsa, 36, Brazilian actress and writer, suicide by jumping. (Portuguese)
* Geraldine Ferraro, 75, American politician, U.S. Representative from New York (1979–1985) and 1984 Vice Presidential nominee, multiple myeloma.
* František Havránek, 87, Czech football player and manager. (Czech)
* Diana Wynne Jones, 76, British fantasy author (Howl's Moving Castle), lung cancer.
* Enn Klooren, 70, Estonian actor. (Estonian)
* Raymond-Marie Tchidimbo, 90, Guinean Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Conakry (1962–1979).

27
* Clement Arrindell, 79, Kittitian politician, Governor-General (1983–1995).
* David E. Davis, 80, American automotive writer, editor and publisher (Car and Driver, Automobile), complications from bladder surgery.
* Farley Granger, 85, American actor (Strangers on a Train, Rope), natural causes.
* H. R. F. Keating, 84, British crime fiction writer.
* Ellen McCormack, 84, American politician, two-time Presidential candidate (1976, 1980), pro-life activist.
* DJ Megatron, 32, American disc jockey, shot.
* Günther Mund, 76, German-born Chilean Olympic diver, plane crash. (Spanish)
* Dorothea Puente, 82, American serial killer, natural causes.
* Hans Stumpf, 84, German-born American musician and music scientist.
* George Tooker, 90, American painter, kidney failure.

28
* Wenche Foss, 93, Norwegian actress, natural causes. (Norwegian)
* Lee Hoiby, 85, American composer, metastatic melanoma.
* Sonia Osorio, 83, Colombian ballet dancer and choreographer, respiratory failure. (Spanish)
* Bill Scarlett, 82, American jazz musician and teacher.
* Esben Storm, 60, Danish-born Australian actor, director and producer, heart attack.