Obituary Stories

LONDON — John Mayall, the British blues musician whose influential band the Bluesbreakers was a training ground for Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other superstars, has died. He was 90. A statement on Mayall’s Instagram page announced his death Tuesday, saying the musician died Monday at his home in...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bernice Johnson Reagon, a musician and scholar who used her rich, powerful contralto voice in the service of the American Civil Rights Movement and human rights struggles around the world, died on July 16, according to her daughter’s social media post. She was 81. Reagon was probably...

NEW YORK — Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving original member of the beloved Motown group the Four Tops that was known for such hits as “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” and “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” has died at age 88. Fakir died Monday of heart failure at...

LOS ANGELES — Former co-stars and famous fans paid tribute to comedian and actor Bob Newhart, known for his deadpan humor and the sitcoms he starred in bearing his name, after his death Thursday at age 94. — “What a dream it was to witness the genius that was Bob...

NEW YORK — Lou Dobbs, the conservative political pundit and cable TV host who was a nightly presence on Fox Business Network for more than a decade, has died. He was 78. His death was announced Thursday in a post on his official X account, which called him a “fighter...

LOS ANGELES — Bob Newhart, the deadpan accountant-turned-comedian who became one of the most popular TV stars of his time after striking gold with a classic comedy album, has died at 94. Jerry Digney, Newhart’s publicist, says the actor died Thursday in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses....

PHILADELPHIA — Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, the father of the late Basketball Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, has died, his alma mater announced Tuesday. Bryant, who spent eight seasons in the NBA with three different franchises, was 69. The Philadelphia Inquirer, citing La Salle coach Fran Dunphy, reported that Joe Bryant...

LOS ANGELES — Shannen Doherty, the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star whose life and career were roiled by illness and tabloid stories, has died at 53. After years with breast cancer, Doherty died Saturday, according to a statement from her publicist, Leslie Sloane. “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was...

NEW YORK — Richard Simmons, television’s hyperactive court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better, died Saturday. He turned 76 on Friday. Simmons died at his home in Los Angeles, his publicist...

Joe Bonsall, Grammy award winner and celebrated tenor of the country and gospel group the Oak Ridge Boys, died Tuesday. He was 76. Bonsall died from complications of the neuromuscular disorder Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, according to a statement from representatives of his family. “Joe loved to sing. He loved to...

OKLAHOMA CITY — Former Sen. Jim Inhofe, a conservative firebrand known for his strong support of defense spending and his denial that human activity is responsible for the bulk of climate change, has died. He was 89. Inhofe, a powerful fixture in Oklahoma politics for over six decades, died Tuesday...

Robert “Bobby” Grier Sr., who was a fullback, linebacker and defensive back at Pitt but more significantly a civil rights pioneer in the 1950s, has died. Grier, who was 91, died June 30, according to a Pitt news release. Grier was the first Black player in the Sugar Bowl after...

John “Butch” Liput Jr. of Lower Burrell, was the “Voice of the Burrell Bucs” for more than four decades and one of the most recognizable voices in Lower Burrell sports history. Liput, who had been around Burrell football as the public address announcer at Buccaneer Stadium, died Friday at age...

When Joanne Mertz planned disaster drills for Greensburg firefighters, she didn’t have to look far for help to play victims. “Us as kids, we would be the patients,” said her daughter Sandy Young. Young and her siblings would run around and act hysterical, at their mother’s request, to help the...

SAN FRANCISCO — Orlando Cepeda, the slugging first baseman nicknamed “Baby Bull” who became a Hall of Famer among the early Puerto Ricans to star in the major leagues, has died. He was 86. The San Francisco Giants and his family announced the death Friday night, and a moment of...

August “Gus” Kalaris often gave free ice balls to people who couldn’t afford one — he was known as the “Ice Ball Man.” He will be missed from his spot at the bright orange cart near West Park on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Kalaris died Friday night. For seven decades, Kalaris...

AUSTIN, Texas — Singer, songwriter, satirist and novelist Kinky Friedman, who led the alt-country band Texas Jewboys, toured with Bob Dylan, sang with Willie Nelson, and dabbled in politics with campaigns for Texas governor and other statewide offices, has died. Friedman, 79, died Thursday at his family’s Texas ranch near...

NEW YORK — Bill Cobbs, the veteran character actor who became a ubiquitous and sage screen presence as an older man, has died. He was 90. Cobbs died Tuesday at his home in the Inland Empire, California, surrounded by family and friends, his publicist Chuck I. Jones said. Natural causes...

NEW YORK — Donald Sutherland, the prolific film and television actor whose long career stretched from “M.A.S.H.” to “The Hunger Games,” has died. He was 88. Kiefer Sutherland, the actor’s son, confirmed his father’s death Thursday. No further details were immediately available. “I personally think one of the most important...

PARIS — French actress Anouk Aimée, winner of a Golden Globe for her starring role in “A Man and a Woman” by legendary French director Claude Lelouch, has died, her agent said Tuesday. She was 92. Agent Sébastien Perrolat said in an text message to The Associated Press that Aimée...

Howard Fineman, the political journalist who covered presidents from Reagan to Biden for a variety of outlets, died Tuesday at the age of 75. Fineman died from pancreatic cancer, which he had been battling for two years, his wife, Amy Nathan, said in a social media post Wednesday afternoon. “I...

Bob Bozzone already was working at Allegheny Ludlum as a junior metallurgist in the early 1960s when the company’s Bagdad plant in Gilpin was being built. “I would watch it be constructed,” Bozzone told the Valley News Dispatch in 2010 when the Bagdad plant celebrated its 50th anniversary. “As they...