Final Exits, 22-28 June 2011

Elaine Stewart in the film The Bad and the Beautiful, 1952.

Obituaries for 22-28 June 2011

22
* Sir John Agnew, 6th Baronet, 60, British landowner, prostate cancer.
* Kader Asmal, 76, South African politician, heart attack.
* Anatoli Bitkov, 38, Russian journalist and broadcaster, homicide. (Russian)
* Fanny de Sivers, 90, Estonian linguist and translator. (Estonian)
* Carmelo Juan Giaquinta, 81, Argentinian Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Resistencia (1993–2005).
* Harley Hotchkiss, 83, Canadian businessman, member of Hockey Hall of Fame, prostate cancer.
* Robert Miller, 72, American art dealer, infection.
* Cyril Ornadel, 87, British conductor and composer.
* Coşkun Özarı, 80, Turkish football player and coach.
* David Rayfiel, 87, American screenwriter (Out of Africa, Three Days of the Condor), heart failure.
* Jared Southwick, 34, American rock guitarist (The Dream Is Dead), liver and kidney condition.
* Mike Waterson, 70, British folk singer, cancer.
* John Waite, 81, South African cricketer.
* Zbyněk Zeman, 82, Czech historian.

23
* Vladislav Achalov, 65, Russian general and activist.
* Gene Colan, 84, American comic book artist (Daredevil, Howard the Duck), complications from cancer and liver disease.
* Gaye Delorme, 64, Canadian musician, heart attack.
* Peter Falk, 83, American actor (Columbo, Murder, Inc., Pocketful of Miracles, The Great Race).
* Stéphane Franke, 47, German athlete. (German)
* Len King, 86, Australian politician and jurist, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia (1978–1995).
* Dennis Marshall, 25, Costa Rican footballer, car crash.
* Patricia Merbreier, 86, American actress and television personality (Captain Noah and His Magical Ark).
* Basil Mitchell, 94, British philosopher.
* Christiane Desroches Noblecourt, 97, French Egyptologist.
* Attilio Ruffini, 85, Italian politician, Minister of Defence (1977–1980) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1980). (Italian)
* Fred Steiner, 88, American television composer (Perry Mason, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone).

24
* Tomislav Ivić, 77, Croatian football coach (Ajax, Anderlecht). (Dutch)
* Nisar Ahmed Khan, 110, Pakistani supercentenarian, thought to be oldest Pakistani.
* Richie Myers, 81, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs), complications from a fall.
* F. Gilman Spencer, 85, American Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper editor.

25
* George Ballas, 85, American entrepreneur, inventor of the Weed Eater.
* Nick Charles, 64, American sportscaster (CNN Sports Tonight), bladder cancer.
* Shelby Grant, 74, American actress (Our Man Flint, Fantastic Voyage, Medical Center), brain aneurysm.
* Martin H. Greenberg, 70, American anthologist, cancer.
* Jan Kułakowski, 80, Polish politician, Member of the European Parliament (2004–2009).
* J.O. Patterson, Jr., 76, American politician and religious leader, first black mayor of Memphis (1982).
* Alice Playten, 63, American actress, heart failure.
* Goff Richards, 66, English brass band arranger and composer, illness.
* Betty Roberts, 88, American politician and judge, Oregon Supreme Court (1982–1986), pulmonary fibrosis.
* Margaret Tyzack, 79, British actress, short illness.

26
* Roberto Bruce, 78, Chilean comedian, cardiac arrest. (Spanish)
* Simon Heere Heeresma, 79, Dutch writer. (Dutch)
* Norma Lyon, 81, American farmer and butter sculpture artist.
* Sidney Hollis Radner, 91, American collector of Harry Houdini memorabilia.
* Alan Rodger, Baron Rodger of Earlsferry, 66, British Supreme Court judge.
* Christopher Shale, 56, British political aide.
* Jan van Beveren, 63, Dutch football player and coach. (Dutch)
* Barry Wilkins, 64, Canadian hockey player (Vancouver Canucks), lung cancer.

27
* Lorenzo Charles, 47, American basketball player (NC State, Atlanta Hawks), bus accident.
* Mike Doyle, 64, English footballer (Manchester City), liver failure.
* Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, 97, Israeli rabbi.
* Erling Olsen, 84, Danish politician, natural causes. (Danish)
* Elaine Stewart, 81, American actress and model, after long illness.
* Charles W. Whalen, Jr., 90, American politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio (1967–1979).
* Maciej Zembaty, 67, Polish writer and singer. (Polish)

28
* Giorgio Bernardin, 83, Italian footballer. (Italian)
* Carlos Diarte, 57, Paraguayan footballer, cancer. (Spanish)
* Richard Fox, 57, British jockey and actor.
* Aleksey Mazhukov, 75, Russian composer. (Russian)
* Aleksandr Novikov, 64, Russian politician, former deputy mayor of Moscow, suicide. (Russian)
* Richard Harding Poff, 87, American politician, U.S. Representative from Virginia (1953–1972).

Peter Falk Dies at 83

Peter Falk in Decoy (TV, 1959)

Saturday, 25 June 2011

Actor Peter Falk has died at the age of 83.

Falk is best known for his portrayal of the rumpled, seemingly slow-witted television detective Columbo, a role that earned him four Emmy awards.

One of Lieutenant Columbo's trademarks was an ever-present, wrinkled raincoat that was plucked from Falk's personal closet.

In 2006 Falk wrote a book about his professional and personal lives entitled Just One More Thing – named after his Columbo catchphrase.

Surgeons removed Falk's cancerous right eye when he was three. He was fitted with a glass eye and went on to become a high school athlete.

Falk earned a master's degree in public administration and worked for the state of Connecticut as an efficiency expert before deciding to become an actor.

In the early 1960s, he won his first Emmy for his role as a truck driver who befriends a lonely, pregnant girl in The Price of Tomatoes, a segment of The Dick Powell Show.

Falk was nominated twice for an Academy Award – in 1960 for Murder, Inc. and a year later for Pocketful of Miracles.

A versatile actor, Falk appeared in the original stage productions of works by Paddy Chayefsky, Neil Simon and Arthur Miller. He also worked with film directors Frank Capra, John Cassavetes, Blake Edwards and Mike Nichols and studied with legendary acting coach Eva Le Gallienne.

The cause of Falk's death was not given, but in recent years he had suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Peter Falk is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Final Exits, 15-21 June 2011

Frank Zappa and Wild Man Fischer, circa 1968

Obituaries for 15-21 June 2011

15
* Bob Banner, 89, American television producer and director (The Carol Burnett Show), Parkinson's disease.
* Joko Beck, 94, American Zen Buddhist teacher, founder of the Ordinary Mind School, after long illness.
* John Ehrman, 91, British historian.
* Bill Haast, 100, American snake expert, director of the Miami Serpentarium.
* Linda Scheid, 68, American politician, Minnesota state senator (since 1997), ovarian cancer.
* Sir Apenera Short, 95, Cook Islands politician, Queen's Representative (1990–2000).
* Mae Wheeler, 77, American singer and event producer, after long illness.

16
* Gerald Abramovitz, 82, South African architect and designer, assault-related injuries.
* James Allason, 98, British politician and soldier, MP for Hemel Hempstead (1959–1974).
* Wild Man Fischer, 66, American street musician, heart failure.
* Abrar Hussain, 46, Pakistani Olympic boxer, shot.
* Yehuda Kiel, 94, Israeli educator and biblical scholar.
* Östen Mäkitalo, 72, Swedish electrical engineer.
* Pavel Stolbov, 81, Russian Olympic gold medal-winning (1956) gymnast. (Russian)

17
* David Brockhoff, 83, Australian rugby union player and coach.
* Betty Fox, 71, Canadian cancer research activist, founder of the Terry Fox Foundation.
* Ben Grussendorf, 69, American politician, Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives (1985–1989; 1991–1993).
* Ruth M. Kirk, 81, American politician, Maryland House of Delegates (1983–2011).
* Fernando Larraín Munita, 76, Chilean humorist, prostate cancer. (Spanish)
* Carlos Mosse, Argentine politician, lung cancer. (Spanish)
* Rex Mossop, 83, Australian rugby player and television commentator.
* Nathan Sharon, 86, Israeli biochemist. (Hebrew)

18
* Echendu Adiele, 32, Nigerian footballer.
* Ulrich Biesinger, 77, German football player. (German)
* Yelena Bonner, 88, Russian human rights activist, after long illness.
* Wilza Carla, 75, Brazilian actress. (Portuguese)
* Frederick Chiluba, 68, Zambian politician, President (1991–2002), heart attack.
* Clarence Clemons, 69, American saxophonist (E Street Band), complications following a stroke.
* Karl Frei, 94, Swiss Olympic gold medal-winning (1948) gymnast. (German)
* Brian Haw, 62, English protestor and peace campaigner, lung cancer.
* Gustaf Kjellvander, 31, Swedish singer-songwriter. (Swedish)
* Bob Pease, 70, American integrated circuit engineer.
* John Perumattam, 89, Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic hierarch, Bishop of Ujjain (1968–1998).
* Shlomo Pinto, 57, Israeli paralympic athlete. (Hebrew)
* Morris Pollard, 95, American microbiologist.

19
* Don Diamond, 90, American actor (F Troop, The Adventures of Kit Carson, Zorro).
* Tom Hungerford, 96, Australian author.
* John Kerr, Sr., 67, Scottish-born American soccer player.
* Joel Simon, American movie executive (WWE Studios), pancreatic cancer.
* Angelos Tzekis, 60, Greek politician.

20
* Ryan Dunn, 34, American reality television star (Jackass, Viva La Bam), car accident.
* Magomet Isayev, 83, Russian Esperantist, translator and linguist. (Russian)
* Miguel Ángel López Velasco, 55, Mexican journalist, shot.
* Vladimir Pettay, 38, Russian football referee, plane crash.
* Clodosbaldo Russián, 72, Venezuelan public official, Comptroller General (since 1999), kidney failure.

21
* Kothapalli Jayashankar, 76, Indian educator and politician, after long illness.
* Robert Kroetsch, 83, Canadian author.
* Suresh Tendulkar, 72, Indian economist, cardiac arrest.
* Maria Gomes Valentim, 114, Brazilian supercentenarian, world's oldest person.

Final Exits, 8-14 June 2011

Obituaries for 8-14 June 2011

8
* Anatole Abragam, 96, French physicist. (French)
* Larry Border, 60, American politician, member of the West Virginia House of Delegates (since 1990), stroke.
* Angie Garany, 30, Croatian reality television star (Farma), complications from a car accident. (Croatian)
* Nasir Jalil, 56, Singaporean footballer.
* Clara Luper, 88, American civil rights activist, after long illness.
* John Mackenzie, 83, British film director (The Long Good Friday, Ruby).
* Paul Massie, 78, Canadian BAFTA-winning actor and theater professor.
* Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, 38?, Comorian al-Qaeda terrorist, planned 1998 United States embassy bombings, shot.
* Jim Northrup, 71, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles), seizure.
* Steve Popovich, 68, American record executive, founder of Cleveland International Records.
* Alan Rubin, 68, American trumpeter (The Blues Brothers), lung cancer .
* Roy Skelton, 79, British actor (Rainbow, Doctor Who), stroke.
* Oliver William Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 85, British Anglican priest, Dean of Lincoln (1969–1989).

9
* Jorge Berlanga, 52, Spanish writer, hepatic disease. (Spanish)
* Jameel Fakhri, 67, Pakistani television, film and stage actor, brain hemorrhage.
* M. F. Husain, 95, Indian artist, heart attack.
* Josip Katalinski, 63, Bosnian footballer, after long illness. (Croatian)
* Tomoko Kawakami, 41, Japanese voice actress (Fushigi Yûgi, Revolutionary Girl Utena), ovarian cancer.
* Claude Léveillée, 78, Canadian actor and songwriter, apparent heart attack.
* Mike Mitchell, 55, American basketball player (Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs), cancer.
* Godfrey Myles, 42, American football player (Dallas Cowboys), heart attack.
* Vladimir Tumanov, 84, Russian lawyer, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Russia (1995–1997). (Russian)
* Ignazio Vella, 82, American artisanal cheesemaker and businessman, long illness.
* Pavel Vinnik, 85, Russian film actor. (Russian)

10
* Jeanne Bice, 71, American entrepreneur and television personality.
* Pam Brown, 58, American politician, Nebraska state senator (1995–2006), ovarian cancer.
* Yuri Budanov, 47, Russian military officer and war criminal, shot.
* Cosimo Caliandro, 29, Italian middle distance runner, motorcycle collision.
* Theo Dubois, 100, Canadian rower.
* Abdi Shakur Sheikh Hassan, Somali politician, Interior Minister (since 2010), suicide bombing.
* Kenny Hawkes, British DJ and music producer, after short illness.
* Esmond Kentish, 94, Jamaican Test cricketer.
* Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor, 96, British author and soldier.
* Brian Lenihan, Jnr, 52, Irish politician, TD for Dublin West (since 1996) and Minister for Finance (2008–2011), pancreatic cancer.
* Darryl Pandy, 48, American house vocalist ("Love Can't Turn Around"), after short illness.
* Jim Rodnunsky, 54, Canadian technician, inventor of the Cablecam system, brain cancer.
* Al Schwimmer, 94, American-born Israeli businessman, founder of Israel Aerospace Industries.
* György Szabados, 71, Hungarian physician, pianist, and composer.
* Sven-Olof Walldoff, 82, Swedish conductor and composer.

11
* Shaun Best, 43, Canadian photographer (Reuters).
* Giorgio Celli, 75, Italian entomologist and politician (The Greens–European Free Alliance). (Italian)
* Robert Marie Jean Victor de Chevigny, 90, French-born Mauritanian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Nouakchott (1973–1995).
* Jyotirmoy Dey, 56, Indian journalist, shot.
* Gunnar Fischer, 100, Swedish cinematographer (The Seventh Seal).
* Eliyahu M. Goldratt, 64, Israeli physicist and management guru.
* Kurt Nielsen, 80, Danish tennis player, only Dane to have played in a men's Grand Slam singles final. (Danish)
* Graham B. Purcell, Jr., 92, American politician, U.S. Representative from Texas (1962–1973).
* Seth Putnam, 43, American musician (Anal Cunt).
* James Rahal, Jr., 77, American physician and West Nile Virus expert, Rosai–Dorfman disease.
* Idwal Robling, 84, Welsh Olympic footballer and broadcaster.
* Raúl Marcelo Pacífico Scozzina, 89, Argentinian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Formosa (1957–1978).
* Jack Smith, 82, British artist.
* William Carrington Thompson, 95, American politician, Virginia House of Delegates (1959–1968), Virginia Senate (1968–1973) and Supreme Court (1980–1983).

12
* René Audet, 91, Canadian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Joliette (1968–1990).
* Christian Collardot, 77, French Olympic athlete. (French)
* Geoffrey Fisken, 95, New Zealand World War II flying ace.
* Carl Gardner, 83, American singer (The Coasters).
* Alan Haberman, 81, American grocer, first to use the barcode system, heart and lung disease.
* John Hospers, 93, American philosopher, first Libertarian Party presidential candidate (1972).
* Hoda Saber, 52, Iranian dissident, heart attack following a hunger strike.
* Kathryn Tucker Windham, 93, American author and journalist.
* Sir John Wilton, 89, British diplomat.
* Laura Ziskin, 61, American film producer (Pretty Woman, Spider-Man, What About Bob?), breast cancer.

13
* Germano Meneghel, 49, Brazilian vocalist (Olodum). (Spanish)
* Betty Neumar, 79, American murder suspect.
* Pablo Ruelas Barraza, 38, Mexican journalist, shot. (Spanish)
* William J. Spahr, 89, American CIA analyst and author, pneumonia.

14
* Tom Addison, 75, American football player (New England Patriots).
* Milivoj Ašner, 98, Croatian-born Austrian Nazi war criminal.
* Ambrose Griffiths, 82, British Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
* Asad Ali Khan, 74, Indian musician, recipient of the Padma Bhushan.
* Augusto Ramírez Ocampo, 77, Colombian politician, Mayor of Bogotá (1982–1984), Foreign Minister (1984–1986), heart ailment.
* Oscar Sambrano Urdaneta, 82, Venezuelan writer. (Spanish)
* Peter Schamoni, 77, German film director.
* Mack Self, 81, American rockabilly musician.

Famed British Peace Activist Brian Haw Dead at 62

Brian Haw on 24 February 2007 (Photo: David Hunt)

Famed British Peace Activist Brian Haw Dead at 62
Sunday, 19 June 2011

Brian Haw, a peace activist who for years held a nearly non-stop vigil in a tent across from Britain's parliament, has died, his family announced Sunday.

Almost everyone who worked in or visited the London landmark had seen him. A former carpenter and member of the Merchant Navy, Haw set up his tent near opposite the Houses of Parliament in 2001 to protest British and U.S. sanctions against Iraq.

His protests became more vocal and elaborate when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were launched — accusing Western leaders of mass murder and draping his tent with posters and pictures.

British courts rejected efforts to evict Haw and he often tussled with passersby who argued with him.

But many others, including some members of Parliament, praised Haw for what they say was his commitment to peace and refusal to keep silent.

Haw was being treated for lung cancer in Germany when he died Saturday. He was 62 years old.

Soviet-Era Human Rights Activist Yelena Bonner Dies at 88

Yelena Bonner (left), Andrei Sakharov and Sofiya Kalistratova in Moscow, 1977. (Photo: M.A.Kallistratova)

Soviet-Era Human Rights Activist Yelena Bonner Dies at 88
Sunday, 19 June 2011

Veteran Soviet-era rights activist Yelena Bonner, widow of Nobel Peace laureate Andrei Sakharov, has died in the United States at the age of 88.

Bonner died of heart problems Saturday in Boston, where she lived with her son and daughter.

Bonner was a relentless critic of human rights abuses by Soviet-era authorities. She was born in Turkmenistan in 1923 to a Jewish mother and an Armenian father. Her father was executed and her mother sentenced to a labor camp under Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

After a career as a nurse, Bonner married nuclear physicist and fellow dissident Andrei Sakharov in 1972. Both became vocal critics of nuclear weapons proliferation. When the Kremlin banned Sakharov from collecting his 1975 Nobel Peace Prize, Bonner went to Oslo to accept it for him.

In the 1980's, authorities sentenced the couple to internal exile in the city of Gorky for criticizing the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

After Sakharov's 1989 death, Bonner remained an outspoken critic of Russian military action in Chechnya and of former Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin.

The U.S. State Department says it is profoundly saddened at Bonner's death, calling her an extraordinary voice among human rights defenders.

Her family says Bonner will be cremated and her ashes buried in a Moscow cemetery beside Sakharov.

Springsteen Sax Star Clarence Clemons Dies

Clarence Clemons ("The Big Man") playing his saxophone part on "Night" early in a show during Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Working on a Dream Tour. Estadio José Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain, August 1, 2009. (Photo: Manuel Martinez Perez)

19 June 2011
Springsteen Sax Star Clarence Clemons Dies
VOA News

Clarence Clemons, the burly star saxophonist of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, died Saturday, six days after suffering a stroke following surgery. Clemons was 69.

His bandleader, Springsteen, announced on his website Clemons' loss was "immeasurable." Springsteen said "we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly 40 years."

Clemons died at his home in the southern U.S. state of Florida. His health had been fragile in recent years after the musician underwent hip and knee surgeries.

Clemons' powerful raw style was featured on many hits by Springsteen, including "Jungleland" and "Born to Run."

Clemons last appeared with Springsteen and his longtime band in December.

Clemons is the second E Street Band member to die. Longtime keyboard player Danny Federici died of cancer nearly three years ago at the age of 58.

Ex-Zambian President Chiluba Dies

Saturday, 18 June 2011

Former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba died early Saturday at his home in Lusaka. He was 68-years old.

Mr. Chiluba's spokesman, Emmanuel Mwamba, said the country's first democratically elected leader suffered a heart attack after spending most of Friday with members of parliament and his lawyers. Mwamba said Mr. Chiluba became ill Friday evening and died five minutes after midnight.

Mr. Chiluba led Zambia from 1991 to 2002.

In 1990, he helped found the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, leading it to victory the next year in the first multiparty post-colonial elections in Zambia.

The son of a copper miner and former union leader, Mr. Chiluba took office after almost three decades of one party rule by Kenneth Kaunda. He began his tenure by allowing greater political freedoms and liberalizing the country's economy.

But his administration became increasingly bogged down by allegations of corruption and mismanagement. He was also the target of personal criticism for his lavish lifestyle.

After he left office, his hand-picked successor Levy Mwanawasa instituted anti-corruption probes and Mr. Chiluba was charged with misappropriating $500,000 to his personal account, but was acquitted in 2009.

However, state prosecutors also filed civil charges against him in Britain. A court in London convicted him of stealing $46 million in state funds while president of Zambia. He was ordered to repay 85 percent of the money but the court order was never enforced in Zambia.

Mr. Chiluba is survived by his second wife and nine children.

Indian Spiritual Leader Dies After Months of Fasting

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Indian spiritual leader Swami Nigamanand, who was on a hunger strike for 115 days to protest environmental abuses in the country, died late Monday at the age of 36 in a hospital in Uttarakhand state.

Nigamanand was fasting to bring attention to pollution of India's revered Ganga River, also known as the Ganges.

Nigamanand, who began his fast in February and had slipped into a coma last month, died in relative obscurity, compared to the fast of a celebrity yoga guru Baba Ramdev to protest corruption. Ramdev is very much alive and in the spotlight.

Sociology Professor Mala Kapur Shankardass says Ramdev's fast became a media frenzy because anything which has an impact on politics or on socio-economic aspects gets much more attention.

Shankardass said environmental protests like Nigamanand's tend to be limited to the affected regions. He said environmental issues are not yet on the public agenda like corruption.

India's government has been beleaguered by a series of recent corruption scandals. The largest involves the sale of telecom licenses at below market rates, allegedly causing the loss of up to $40 billion to the government.

The hunger strike is a traditional form of protest in India and was used as part of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi's non-violence movement.

Award-Winning Travel Writer Patrick Leigh Fermor Dies at 96

Sunday, 12 June 2011

World renowned British travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor, who kidnapped the Nazi military commander of occupied Crete in World War II, has died at age 96.

Leigh Fermor's books about life in Greece and travel across Europe and the Caribbean are regarded as some of the best travel books ever written. They include The Traveller's Tree and Between the Woods and the Water.

Impatient with school, Leigh Fermor set off as a teenager in 1933 across the English Channel to the Netherlands on what turned out to be a three-year trek to Istanbul on foot, horseback, train, and car.

Later, as a British military officer, he disguised himself as a shepherd on Crete and led an operation to capture the German commander of the Nazi occupied Greek island.

Leigh Fermor eventually settled in Greece, where his books about his beloved adopted country made him one of Greece's most admired citizens and unofficial ambassadors of Greek culture.

India's "Picasso" Dies at 95

Thursday, 9 June 2011

India's most eminent artist, Maqbool Fida Husain, sometimes called “the Indian Picasso,” died Thursday in London at the age of 95.

Indian President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and artists and ordinary Indians paid tribute to Husain after news of his death spread across the country.

Husain began his career in India as a Bollywood poster artist and later developed a style combining Indian traditions with a Western-influenced Cubist style. He was also known for avoiding shoes, preferring to go barefoot.

But in 2006, the Muslim artist went into self-imposed exile in Dubai after being targeted by Hindu hardliners angered by his depiction of Hindu deities in the nude and India as a nude woman. Angry Hindu radical groups called the paintings an insult to their religion and offered a reward for his death.

Husain's decision to leave his homeland raised a debate about artistic freedom and tolerance in India. He refused to comment on the controversy, saying he remained deeply rooted to India and was living abroad only to do his work.

Among those who spoke up in Husain's defense was the Supreme Court, which said nudity is common in Indian art and should not be regarded as an obscenity.

Photo: M.F. Hussain, 2010. (Photographer: Ayaz360)

Final Exits, 1-7 June 2011

Obituaries for 1-7 June 2011

Photo: Martin Rushent on 17 February 2011. (Photographer: Mattgirling)

1
* Munir Dar, 76, Pakistani Olympic gold medal-winning (1960) field hockey player.
* Matt Fong, 57, American politician, California State Treasurer (1995–1999), skin cancer.
* Giorgos Kosmopoulos, 74, Greek politician, Mayor of Olympia (1991–1994). (Greek)
* Manolo Otero, 63, Spanish singer and actor, liver cancer. (Portuguese)
* Frank Ponta, 75, Australian paralympian, after long illness.
* Haleh Sahabi, 54, Iranian humanitarian, daughter of Ezzatollah Sahabi, cardiac arrest.

2
* Ray Bryant, 79, American jazz pianist, after long illness.
* Willem Duys, 82, Dutch radio and television presenter and record producer, infection. (Dutch)
* Josephine Hart, 69, Irish-born British novelist and poetry promoter, ovarian cancer.
* Philip Holland, 94, British politician, MP for Acton (1959–1964); Carlton (1966–1983) and Gedling (1983–1987).
* Walter R. Peterson, Jr., 88, American politician, Governor of New Hampshire (1969–1973), lung cancer.
* Geronimo Pratt, 63, American political leader (Black Panther Party).
* Joel Rosenberg, 57, American science fiction author, heart attack.
* Albertina Sisulu, 92, South African anti-apartheid activist.
* Philip Rahtz, 90, British archaeologist.
* Lavina Washines, 71, American tribal leader, first female leader of the Yakima Nation (2006–2008).

3
* James Arness, 88, American actor (Gunsmoke), natural causes.
* Harry Bernstein, 101, British-born American author.
* Wally Boag, 90, American performer (Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue).
* Papa Joe Chevalier, 62, American sports talk radio host, stroke.
* Bruce Crozier, 72, Canadian politician, Ontario MPP for Essex South (1993–1999) and Essex (since 1999), aortic aneurysm.
* Andrew Gold, 59, American singer-songwriter ("Lonely Boy", "Thank You for Being a Friend"), heart attack.
* John Henry Johnson, 81, American Hall of Fame football player (49ers, Lions, Steelers, Oilers).
* Miriam Karlin, 85, British actress and activist, cancer.
* Jack Kevorkian, 83, American right to die activist, pulmonary thrombosis.
* Bhajan Lal, 80, Indian politician, Chief Minister of Haryana (1979–1985; 1991–1996), cardiac arrest.
* Peter Murphy, 88, Irish television presenter (RTE).
* Sammy Ofer, 89, Israeli businessman, after long illness.
* Benny Spellman, 79, American R&B singer, respiratory failure.
* Jan van Roessel, 86, Dutch footballer (Willem II Tilburg).
* Wang Haifang, 47, Chinese football coach, car accident. (Chinese)

4
* Dimi Mint Abba, 52, Mauritanian singer, brain hemorrhage.
* Lilian Jackson Braun, 97, American author (Cat Who series), natural causes.
* Claudio Bravo, 74, Chilean painter, epilepsy.
* Tommy Brent, 88, American theatrical producer.
* Lindsey Durlacher, 36, American Greco-Roman wrestler.
* Lawrence Eagleburger, 80, American diplomat and politician, Secretary of State (1992–1993).
* Curth Flatow, 91, German dramatist and screenwriter, natural causes. (German)
* Maurice Garrel, 88, French actor. (French)
* Donald Hewlett, 90, English actor.
* Ilyas Kashmiri, 47, Pakistani leader of Harkatul Jihad al-Islami, drone strike.
* Andreas P. Nielsen, 58, Danish author and composer, cancer. (Danish)
* Martin Rushent, 63, English record producer (Buzzcocks, Human League, The Stranglers).
* Kiyoshi Sasamori, 70, Japanese cabinet advisor and labor union leader (RENGO), pneumonia.
* Betty Taylor, 91, American performer (Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue).
* Frankie Toler, 59, American drummer (The Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman Band, Marshall Tucker Band), long illness following liver transplant.

5
* Mark H. Beaubien, Jr., 68, American politician, member of the Illinois House of Representatives (since 1997).
* Leon Botha, 26, South African artist and musical performer, progeria-related heart failure. (Afrikaans)
* Calvin Hannah, 81, American photographer.
* Azam Khan, 61, Bangladeshi pop singer, cancer.
* Gordon Lorenz, 61, British songwriter.

6
* John R. Alison, 98, American World War II combat flying ace.
* Derek Brien, 34, Irish motorcycle racer, race crash.
* Declan Costello, 84, Irish politician, TD for Dublin North West (1951–1969); Dublin South West (1973–1977), Attorney General (1973–1977) and High Court judge.
* Nils-Bertil Dahlander, 83, Swedish jazz drummer. (Swedish)
* Dulce Figueiredo, 83, Brazilian First Lady (1979–1985), widow of João Figueiredo. (Portuguese)
* Stefan Kurylowicz, 62, Polish architect, plane crash.
* Shrek, 16, New Zealand sheep known for its unshorn fleece, euthanised.
* Tillmann Uhrmacher, 44, German DJ, music producer and radio host. (German)

7
* Thomas Emma, 49, American basketball player (Duke University), fall.
* Buddy Gask, 64, British rock and roll singer (Showaddywaddy), after long illness.
* Walid Gholmieh, 73, Lebanese musician, director of Conservatoire Libanais.
* Genaro Hernández, 45, American boxer, cancer.
* José Pagán, 76, Puerto Rican baseball player (San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates).
* Nataraja Ramakrishna, 88, Indian dance guru, after long illness.
* Jorge Semprún, 87, Spanish writer and politician. (Spanish)
* Leonard B. Stern, 87, American television director, producer and writer (Get Smart, McMillan & Wife, The Governor & J.J.), creator of The Honeymooners.
* Edgar Tekere, 74, Zimbabwean politician, cancer.

Spanish Resistance Fighter, Holocaust Survivor, Dies

Jorge Semprún, 1970. (Photo: Primera Plana magazine, Buenos Aires, Argentina.)

Spanish Resistance Fighter, Holocaust Survivor, Dies
Wednesday, 8 June 2011

Spanish writer, resistance fighter and Holocaust survivor Jorge Semprun has died in Paris at the age of 87.

Semprun documented his experiences in the Nazi death camp Buchenwald in a famous autobiography recently released in English as The Cattle Truck.

He also was known for his screenplays Z, directed by Costa Gavras, and The War is Over, directed by Alain Resnais.

Born in 1923 in Madrid, Semprun settled in France after his family fled from the civil war and violence in Spain.

Semprun later joined the French resistance against Nazi German occupation, was captured and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp where he remained until the end of World War Two in 1945.

Undeterred, he joined the Communist party and stood against Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain for more than three decades until his death in 1975.

Semprun was appointed Spain's minister of culture from 1988-1991.

He then returned to Paris to write.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Dies

Saturday, 4 June 2011

Former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger has died at age 80.

Word of his death came from representatives of former President George H.W. Bush and former Secretary of State James Baker. No other details were immediately available.

The White House has issued a statement calling Eagleburger “a distinguished diplomat and public servant” and noted that, he served the nation during the “pivotal days” at the end of the Cold War, after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that Eagleburger had served in the U.S. Army before joining the foreign service. She called him “a strong voice and stalwart champion for America's values.” Eagleburger last month appeared at a State Department event with Secretary Clinton and former Secretary Madeleine Albright.

Eagleburger was the only career foreign service officer to rise to the position of Secretary of State.

He served in the position under the first President Bush for five months in 1992 when his predecessor, James Baker, stepped down from the post to run Mr. Bush's unsuccessful re-election campaign.

George H.W. Bush was U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. He is the father of President George W. Bush, who served from 2001 to 2009.

Final Exits, 29-31 May 2011

Obituaries for 29-31 May 2011

29
* Sergei Bagapsh, 62, Abkhazian politician, President (since 2005), complications after surgery.
* Jon Blake, 52, Australian actor, pneumonia.
* Bill Clements, 94, American politician, Governor of Texas (1979–1983; 1987–1991).
* Da Real One, 46, American poet (Def Poetry), shot.
* Wally Jay, 93, American martial arts teacher, founder of Small Circle JuJitsu, after long illness.
* Ferenc Mádl, 80, Hungarian politician, President of the Republic (2000–2005). (Hungarian)
* Osamu Maruoka, 60, Japanese militant, member of Japanese Red Army.
* Tom Roeser, 82, American political commentator.
* Bill Roycroft, 96, Australian equestrian, five-time Olympian, gold medallist (1960).
* Cosmo Francesco Ruppi, 78, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Termoli-Larino (1980–1988) and Archbishop of Lecce (1988–2009).
* Albert M. Sack, 96, American author and antiques dealer.

30
* Ricky Bruch, 64, Swedish athlete, cancer. (Swedish)
* Henri Chammartin, 92, Swiss dressage equestrian, multiple Olympic medallist. (German)
* Paul B. Ferrara, 68, American DNA scientist, pioneer of genetic fingerprinting, brain tumor.
* Prince Ali Mirza Qajar, 81, Iranian royal, Head of the Qajar Imperial Family (since 1988), after long illness. (Persian)
* Eddie Morrison, 63, Scottish footballer and manager (Kilmarnock).
* Isikia Savua, 59, Fijian diplomat and police commissioner.
* Marek Siemek, 68, Polish philosopher and historian of philosophy. (Polish)
* Clarice Taylor, 93, American actress (Sesame Street, The Cosby Show).
* Giorgio Tozzi, 88, American operatic bass, heart attack.
* Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, 89, American Nobel laureate.

31
* Pauline Betz, 91, American tennis player.
* Jonas Bevacqua, 33, American fashion designer (Lifted Research Group).
* Hans Keilson, 101, German-born Dutch psychoanalyst and novelist.
* Adolfas Mekas, 85, Lithuanian-born American film director.
* Andy Robustelli, 85, American Hall of Fame football player (Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants).
* Philip Rose, 89, American theatrical producer, stroke.
* Ezzatollah Sahabi, 81, Iranian politician, Member of Parliament (1980–1984), stroke. (Persian)
* Syed Saleem Shahzad, 40, Pakistani journalist, shot. (body found on this date)
* Ram Man Trishit, 70, Nepali lyricist, kidney problems.
* Sølvi Wang, 81, Norwegian singer and actress. (Norwegian)

Former Black Panther Leader in US Dies

Friday, 3 June 2011

A former leader of the radical Black Panther movement in the United States who was wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years has died.

Family members of Elmer Pratt say he died Thursday in a small village in Tanzania where he had been living. He was 63.

The cause of death is not clear.

Pratt, whose nickname was “Geronimo,” was convicted in 1972 for allegedly robbing and killing a woman in California.

He long maintained his innocence and said he was targeted by the FBI because he was a member of the Black Panther movement.

Pratt's conviction was overturned in 1997, and prosecutors announced two years later they would not seek to retry him.

The Black Panther movement, which was active in the U.S. from 1966 to 1982, was an African-American leftist revolutionary organization. The movement sometimes used violent means to fight what it considered police brutality.

South Africa Mourns Anti-Apartheid Icon 'Ma' Sisulu

Friday, 3 June 2011

South Africa is grieving the loss of a woman many consider to be the mother of the modern country.

Albertina Sisulu, known as Ma Sisulu, died late Thursday at her home in Johannesburg. She was 92.

Following the announcement, the Nelson Mandela Foundation issued a statement saying, "South Africa has lost a treasure."

Sisulu was born in the Tsomo district of Eastern Cape in 1918 and moved to Johannesburg in 1940 to train as a nurse. There she met anti-apartheid leader Walter Sisulu. The two married in 1944, with former president Nelson Mandela serving as the best man.

When South Africa's apartheid government jailed Walter Sisulu and Mr. Mandela in 1964, she took up the cause. Sisulu continued to lead despite being jailed, tortured and even banned from meeting with more than one person at a time.

In 1983, Sisulu formed the United Democratic Front, helping to revitalize the anti-apartheid movement.

Sisulu capped off her political career by formally nominating Nelson Mandela for president in 1994 and then serving one term as a legislator in the new democratic government.

Veteran activists say despite facing many hardships, Ma Sisulu kept her family together and always carried herself with grace and dignity.

South African Cabinet Minister Collins Chabane said Friday the state will give her an official, special funeral.

Part of Ma Sisulu's legacy are her children, who continue to play an active role in South African politics.

Her daughter Lindiwe Sisulu is the country's defense minister. Her son Max Sisulu is speaker of the National Assembly. And her other daughter, Beryl Sisulu, serves as South Africa's ambassador to Norway.

The family said Ma Sisulu had been in good health and was at the center of family activities at the time of her death.

(Photo: Dawidl)

South African Anti-Apartheid Veteran Albertina Sisulu Dies at 92

The University of Johannesburg confers an honorory doctoral degree (Doctor Litterarum et Philosophiae (honoris causa)) to Albertina Sisulu in acknowledgment of her revolutionary role in pre-1994 South Africa. (Photo: Dawidl)

South African Anti-Apartheid Veteran Albertina Sisulu Dies at 92
Thursday, 2 June 2011

A veteran of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, Albertina Sisulu, had died in her Johannesburg home. She was 92.

Sisulu was an important figure in the ANC Women's League at the height of apartheid and was the widow of Walter Sisulu, one of Nelson Mandela's mentors. Walter Sisulu died in 2003.

The ruling African National Congress said Thursday that Albertina Sisulu dedicated all her life to the ANC and to the defeat of apartheid in South Africa.

Sisulu reared five children while her husband spent 25 years in prison on Robben Island alongside Mr. Mandela. Albertina Sisulu also spent months in prison and often had her movements restricted by the apartheid government.

Albertina Sisulu held leadership posts in the ANC and served in parliament, taking a seat after the first all-race elections in 1994.

She lived to see her children take prominent positions in post-apartheid South Africa. Her daughter, Lindiwe Sisulu, is defense minister and her son, Max Sisulu, is a member of parliament.