John Glenn, First US Astronaut to Orbit the Earth, Dies at 95

John Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the earth, has died at age 95, officials said Thursday.

Glenn had been admitted more than a week ago to Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital, according to the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

He was the last surviving member of a group known as "the Mercury Seven" -- seven military test pilots selected in 1959 to become America's first astronauts.

After serving as a military pilot in World War II and the Korean conflict, Glenn was a test pilot on U.S. Navy and Marine Corps jet fighters and won a place in the first class of U.S. astronauts assembled by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, in 1958.

Glenn became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth, flying a ship called the Friendship 7 around the world in a nearly 5-hour flight on February 20, 1962.

Much later, he became the oldest man to fly in space in 1998, as a crew member on the U.S. space shuttle Discovery.

Glenn also had political aspirations, running as a Democrat for a U.S. Senate seat for Ohio in 1964. He was unsuccessful, but won a seat 10 years later, defending attacks on his military record in comments that came to be known as the "Gold Star Mothers" speech.

During the Democratic primary race for the Senate in 1974, opponent Howard Metzenbaum accused Glenn, a career military man, of never holding a real job. Glenn retorted, "You go with me to any Gold Star mother (a mother whose child has died in active U.S. military service) and you look her in the eye and tell her that her son did not hold a job."

The speech is credited with giving Glenn the edge over his competitor in the primary, and he went on to win the Senate seat. He remained a member of the U.S. Senate until 1999, and was the oldest living former member of the Senate until his death.

Glenn made his final trip into space in 1998, while still a senator, after persuading NASA to send him on a space shuttle flight. He was 77 at the time and became the oldest man ever to fly in space. His participation in the 9-day mission was criticized by some as folly, but supporters said it provided valuable data on the effects of space flight on an elderly person, as well as providing data that could be compared with Glenn's space flights from three decades earlier.

After leaving the Senate, Glenn helped to found a public service school at The Ohio State University, which later became the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

Catapulted into the spotlight by the 1962 space flight, Glenn went on to win numerous accolades, including honorary degrees at a number of universities, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service, a U.S. Senate public service award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Thousands Cheer as Mandela Goes Home for Last Time

by Scott Bobb

The body of South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela has been returned to his ancestral home Saturday where it is to be buried Sunday at his family compound in Qunu. Thousands of people cheered the funeral procession as it traveled Saturday from Mthatha to Qunu. 

Throngs of people sang and danced along the roads as they waited many hours for the funeral procession.

As the convoy passed with its coffin draped with the South African flag, police struggled to keep the crowd from surging onto the highway.

It was the beloved leader’s last public appearance.

Sizwe -- he goes by only one name -- was eight years old when Mandela was freed from prison 20 years ago. He says his generation will never forget South Africa’s first black president. 

“Especially us, the youth, because we are looking up to him, a lot of things that he has done for us. Even here in this area there is a lot of changes through him," said Sizwe. "If he didn’t fight for this country like he did I don’t think we’d be standing where we are today.

Luyanda Liberty Gcaza agrees. He is graduating with a university degree in biology. 

“In the olden days it was rare to find a man like me in South Africa, completing his degree," said Gcaza. "I think this is special because education was the first [most] important thing for him because he said that in order for South Africa to be free we need to be educated.”

Nano Binase, a mother of two, also waited for hours to pay her last respects. She says she wants her children to learn Mandela’s humility and his ability to forgive despite many injustices.

“He has lived an exemplary life. We can [should] follow his example," said Gcaza.

Mandela, before his body was returned to his home region, was eulogized by leaders of his ANC party at a memorial service near Johannesburg.

His grandson and designated family heir, Mandla Mandela, said his 95-year-old grandfather worked tirelessly even after his retirement to improve people’s lives. He focused on social issues such as HIV/AIDS and improving the well-being of South Africa’s children.

Authorities say more than 100,000 people paid their respects over three days while Mandela lay in state in Pretoria.

He was eulogized Tuesday at a memorial in Johannesburg that was attended by more than 60,000 people and more than 80 heads of state and government.

The anti-apartheid icon is to be buried in Qunu Sunday following ceremonies to be attended by several thousand people - family members, close friends and a handful of leaders, mostly from Africa.

Jazz Pianist Marian McPartland Dead at 95

by Eric Felten, Bernie Bernard

Marian McPartland, one of the best-known jazz artists in America, died August 20 in Port Washington, New York. She was 95. A musician who broke ground for women instrumentalists in the 1940s and ‘50s, she would later become best known as host of the long-running radio program “Piano Jazz.”

McPartland’s elegant approach to jazz gracefully spanned several major eras, from swing to bebop and beyond. Ms. McPartland brought the musical knowledge earned over decades playing in night-clubs to National Public Radio, where for more than 30 years she hosted “Piano Jazz,” a program that mixed conversation and performance with many of the world’s best musicians.

Born Margaret Marian Turner in Windsor, England, as a girl she took up piano. To her parents’ dismay, when she was 20 she left home to join a four-piano vaudeville act. On a tour playing for Allied troops during World War II she met American jazz trumpeter Jimmy McPartland. They married, and, after the war, moved to the United States. With her husband's encouragement, McPartland went on to lead her own small bands.

McPartland landed a steady job performing at a New York City jazz club, the Hickory House. She played there for eight years, and developed a reputation not only for her fine piano playing, but for her melodic original compositions. Her songs were recorded by singers such as Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, and Peggy Lee.

At first, McPartland was so nervous about her songwriting she wouldn't take the credit for her own tunes.

"Years ago, I felt very insecure about writing songs, and I wrote one at the Hickory House," she said. "Somebody said, 'That's a nice song,' so then it was O.K. for me to say that I had written it. Isn't that sick?"

Starting in the 1960s, McPartland traveled to schools around the United States, encouraging students to develop an appreciation for jazz. She would use popular songs to introduce young listeners to the many sounds of jazz.

"I'll probably pick a tune that they know, something they've all heard, like the theme of [television program] 'M.A.S.H.,' for instance. They all know that. Then I'll do it another way, maybe like jazz, blues or something slow.  And I'll go through a whole thumbnail history of jazz. I'll do some boogie-woogie and so on, and really kind of grab them with that. But as long as you know tunes that they know, I think that helps a lot."

McPartland took that approach to the airwaves in 1979. Her weekly show, “Piano Jazz” became one of the most popular programs on public radio, airing across the United States for over three decades. Each week she would engage noted musicians in casual, relaxed interviews. She would take turns with her guests playing songs, and then would perform duets with them. Both in its music and its conversations, McPartland’s “Piano Jazz” expressed the core jazz virtue of improvisation.

The National Endowment for the Arts recognized McPartland as a “Jazz Master” in 2000. Four years later she won a special Grammy Award for her lifetime achievement. She continued to perform and broadcast into her nineties.

Comedienne Phyllis Diller Dies at 95

Comedienne Phyllis Diller, one of America's first female stand-up comedy stars, has died at age 95.

Diller began her career in the 1950s when women stand-up comics were rare. She created an indelible persona with her distinctive laugh, a cigarette holder, teased hair, outlandish costumes and a fictional husband she called “Fang.”

Her first national exposure came as a contestant on Groucho Marx's TV show You Bet Your Life.

After retiring from stand-up in 2002, Diller continued to take occasional small parts in movies and TV shows, and she pursued painting as a serious hobby.

She published her autobiography, Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse, in 2005.

The 2006 film Goodnight, We Love You documented her career.

The cause of Phyllis Diller's death was not released.

(Photo by Allan Warren, 1973.)

Oscar-Winning Film and Stage Actress Celeste Holm Dies at 95

Academy-award winning actress Celeste Holm, whose career in the theater, movies and television spanned 60 years, has died in New York at age 95.

Holm first won national attention in the original cast of the Broadway favorite Oklahoma in 1943. Five years later, she took home an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for the film Gentleman's Agreement, a damning look at anti-Semitism.

Holm was nominated two more times for the Academy Award, and she co-starred with Frank Sinatra in the classic films High Society and The Tender Trap.

Holm was a hard-working fundraiser for the arts and theater, but a bitter legal fight with her sons over her wealth cost her most of her savings.

Oscar-Winning Actor Ernest Borgnine Dies at 95

Hollywood actor Ernest Borgnine, who could play heartbreaking sensitive roles as easily as he portrayed hulking bullies, has died at 95 in a Los Angeles hospital.

Borgnine entered dramatic school after serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He nearly gave up acting after failing to make much money with small parts on the stage and early television in New York.

After moving to Hollywood, Borgnine won attention for his role as Fatso Judson — the mean-spirited sergeant who beat Frank Sinatra to death in the film From Here to Eternity.

But Borgnine's portrayal of Marty, a sad lonely and homely butcher pestered by his worried mother, won him the 1955 Academy Award for Best Actor and made him a major film star.

Borgnine also won millions of fans as star of the popular television comedy series McHale's Navy from 1962 until 1966, and the 1980s adventure series Airwolf.

Final Exits, 15-21 October 2011

Pete Rugolo, circa December 1946. (Photograph by William P. Gottlieb, courtesy of United States Library of Congress's Music Division)

Obituaries for 15-21 October 2011

15
* Betty Driver, 91, British singer and actress (Coronation Street), pneumonia.
* Sir Donald Dunstan, 88, Australian military officer, Governor of South Australia (1982–1991).
* Pierre Mamboundou, 65, Gabonese politician, leader of the Union of the Gabonese People (since 1989), heart attack.
* Matthew G. Martínez, 82, American politician, U.S. Representative from California (1982–2001).
* Earl McRae, 69, Canadian journalist (Ottawa Sun), apparent heart attack.
* Sue Mengers, 79, American talent agent, pneumonia
* Franko Strmotić, 67, Croatian actor. (Croatian)

16
* Henry Bathurst, 8th Earl Bathurst, 84, British aristocrat and politician.
* Elouise Cobell, 65, American Native American rights activist.
* Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa, 70, Mexican journalist.
* Rick Huseman, 38, American off-road racer, plane crash.
* Pete Rugolo, 95, Italian-born American film and television composer (Kiss Me Kate, The Fugitive).
* Henning Sjöström, 89, Swedish defense attorney, long illness. (Swedish)
* Elisabeth Tankeu, 67, Cameroonian politician, Minister for Planning and Regional Development (1988–1992).
* Dan Wheldon, 33, British IndyCar driver, racing accident.
* Don Williams, 80, American baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Athletics).

17
* Barney Danson, 90, Canadian politician, MP for York North (1968–1979), Minister of National Defence (1976–1979).
* Manfred Gerlach, 83, German politician, last Chairman of the State Council of East Germany (1989–1990).
* Poul Glargaard, 69, Danish actor. (Danish)
* Osvaldo Guidi, 47, Argentine actor, suicide by hanging. (Spanish)
* Carl Lindner, Jr., 92, American businessman (United Dairy Farmers, Cincinnati Reds), cardiac arrest.
* Elaine Nile, 75, Australian politician, member of the New South Wales Legislative Council (1988–2002), cancer.
* Piri Thomas, 83, American writer (Down These Mean Streets) and poet, pneumonia.

18
* Bob Brunning, 68, British blues musician (Fleetwood Mac), heart attack.
* George Chaloupka, 79, Czech-born Australian historian of indigenous art.
* Mofya Chisgena, 28, Zambian pageant winner, complications from childbirth.
* Ramaz Chkhikvadze, 83, Georgian actor, People's Artist of the USSR, long illness.
* Norman Corwin, 101, American radio writer, director and producer.
* Paul Everac, 87, Romanian writer, cancer. (Romanian)
* Tommy Grant, 76, Canadian football player (Hamilton Tiger-Cats).
* Kent Hull, 50, American football player (Buffalo Bills), liver disease.
* Friedrich Kittler, 68, German literary scholar and media theorist. (German)
* Merritt Ranew, 73, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs)
* Lee Soo-Chul, 45, South Korean football manager, suicide.
* Michael Staikos, 65, Greek-born Austrian Orthodox hierarch, Metropolitan of Austria (since 1991). (German)
* Jacques Thuillier, 83, French art historian. (French)
* Andrea Zanzotto, 90, Italian poet. (Italian)

19
* Édison Chará, 31, Colombian footballer.
* Earl Gilliam, 81, American blues pianist, lung disease.
* Ken Meyerson, 47, American tennis agent.
* Bohdan Osadchuk, 91, Ukrainian historian and journalist. (Polish)
* Hollis E. Roberts, 68, American politician, Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (1978–1997).
* Keith Williams, 82, Australian property developer (Hamilton Island, Sea World), stroke.

20
* John Bosco Manat Chuabsamai, 75, Thai Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Ratchaburi (1985–2003).
* Barry Feinstein, 80, American photographer and photo journalist.
* Moatassem Gaddafi 34, Libyan Army officer, fifth son of Muammar Gaddafi, shot.
* Muammar Gaddafi, 69, Libyan leader (1969–2011), shot.
* Gale Gillingham, 67, American football player (Green Bay Packers).
* Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr, 59, Libyan defence minister, shot.
* Dennis Hall, 54, American cinematographer (Franklin & Bash, Burn Notice), heart attack.
* Robert Hunter, 36, Australian rapper, cancer.
* Sue Lloyd, 72, British actress (The Ipcress File, Crossroads).
* Iztok Puc, 45, Slovenian handball player, lung cancer.
* Abdullah Senussi, 61, Sudanese-born Libyan intelligence chief, shot. (death reported on this date)
* Morris Tabaksblat, 74, Dutch Former CEO of Unilever. (Dutch)
* Roger Tallon, 82, French industrial designer. (French)

21
* Rudolph Byrd, 58, American academic, multiple myeloma.
* George Daniels, 85, English horologist.
* Thomas Dillon, 61, American serial killer.
* Freddie Ferrara, American rhythm and blues singer (The Del-Satins, The Brooklyn Bridge), cardiac arrest.
* Yann Fouéré, 101, French Breton nationalist. (French)
* Anis Mansour, 86, Egyptian writer and columnist, pneumonia.
* Tone Pavček, 83, Slovenian author and translator.
* Edmundo Ros, 100, Trinidadian bandleader.
* Wang Yue, 2, Chinese hit-and-run victim.
* Scott White, 41, American politician, member of the Washington House of Representatives (2009–2011) and State Senator (since 2011).

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)