Jezebel: deaths

R.I.P. Collin Wilcox

Sadie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:40:00 EDT

Collin Wilcox, an accomplished actress perhaps best known for playing Mayella Ewell, the woman who falsely accuses Tom Robinson of rape in To Kill A Mockingbird, has died at 74. [NYT]

R.I.P. Irving Penn

Sadie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EDT

Irving Penn, one of the most famous and influential fashion photographers of all time, has died at 92. [NYT]

R.I.P. Richard Merkin

Sadie — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:30:00 EDT

Richard Merkin, artist, illustrator and "professional dandy," has died at 70. Eulogized Tom Wolfe, "He was the greatest of that breed, the Artist Dandy...Like Dali, he had one of the few remaining Great Mustaches in the art world." [NYT]

R.I.P. Sylvia Schur

Sadie — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:20:00 EDT

Sylvia Schur, a food consultant and editor who, in addition to creating recipes and cookbooks, developed Clamato and Cran-Apple juice, has died at the age of 92. [NYT]

R.I.P. Kathryn Kennedy

Sadie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:40:00 EDT

Kathryn Kennedy, a pioneering California winemaker famed for her cabernet sauvignon, has died at 82. [NYT]

R.I.P. Sheila Lukins

Sadie — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EDT

Sheila Lukins, the entrepreneur, cook and author whose Silver Palate store and cookbook played a crucial role in the American food revolution of the 1980s, has died at 66. The cause was brain cancer. [NYT, Parade]

R.I.P. Karla Kuskin

Sadie — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:40:00 EDT

Karla Kuskin, the author of more than 50 books for children, including many books of verse and the classic The Philharmonic Gets Dressed, has died at 77. [NYT]

R.I.P. Hildegard Behrens

Sadie — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:40:00 EDT

Hildegard Behrens, a dramatic sopranao famed for her interpretation of Wagner, has died at 72. The cause of death was apparently aneurism. [NYT]

R.I.P. Ruth Ford

Sadie — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:40:00 EDT

Ruth Ford, an actress who became famous for the salons she held in her Dakota apartment, has died at 98. "My life has been too exciting, too wonderful, to let anything else, and that includes acting, to come first." [NYT]

R.I.P. Carleen Hutchins

Sadie — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:20:00 EDT

Carleen Hutchins, a violin designer and builder famed for crafting the innovative "new violin family," has died at 98. [NYT]

Mutual Appreciation

Sadie — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:20:00 EDT

Today we want to salute two people: Harry F. Klemfuss, the man behind National Secretaries Week, who has died at 88, and Priscilla Duffield, 91, Robert Oppenheimer's secretary and "right hand." A friend calls her "the perfect secretary." [NYT, UPI]

R.I.P. Merce Cunningham

Sadie — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:20:00 EDT

Merce Cunningham, the legendary dancer and choreographer, has died at 90. Considered one of the most important figures of 20th Century dance, Cunningham was the recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the MacArthur Fellowship. [NYT, YouTube]

R.I.P. Brenda Joyce

Sadie — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:40:00 EDT

Brenda Joyce, an actress of the 1940s best known for playing Jane in five "Tarzan" movies, has died at 92. Post-Hollywood, Joyce worked with immigrants, helping them to find jobs and homes. [NYT]

R.I.P. Judi Ann Mason

Sadie — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:40:00 EDT

Judi Ann Mason, a playwright and screenwriter, has died at 54. Mason started writing professionally at only 19 and, on shows like A Different World and Sanford, was one of the first female African-American sitcom writers. [NYT]

R.I.P. Karl Malden

Sadie — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:20:00 EDT

Karl Malden, the versatile, Oscar-winning actor who gave memorable performances in such films as On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Patton, has died at 97. [LAT]

R.I.P. Pina Bausch

Sadie — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:20:00 EDT

Pina Bausch, the highly influential choreographer and modern dancer, has died at 68, a mere five days after being diagnosed with cancer. At left, her famous "Rite of Spring." [Guardian]

Farrah Fawcett, 1947-2009

Sadie — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT

Actress Farrah Fawcett has died after a three-year battle with cancer. She was 62.

Born in Corpus Christi, Farrah Fawcett had a thriving career in commercials before shooting to stardom in 1976 as PI Jill Munroe in Charlie's Angels. Although she's associated in the public mind with this role and with her influence as a 70's style icon, Fawcett went on to have an enduring acting career, appearing off-Broadway and in a number of television movies, as well as in several highly-regarded television appearances. Especially noteworthy was her role as a battered wife in the 1984 TV movie The Burning Bed , for which she was nominated for an Emmy. The film was regarded as crucial in destimgatizing the victims of and drawing attention to issues of domestic abuse - as well as providing actual support information to viewers.

In the years since her diagnosis with anal cancer, Fawcett has come to be regarded, not merely as an iconic sex symbol or someone whose high-profile relationship we gawk at in the tabloids, but as a woman dealing bravely with her disease and talking openly about a form of cancer that doesn't get much press. Last month, she presented the documentary Farrah's Story, of which friend Kate Jackson said, Fawcett "didn't do this to show that she is unique, she did it to show that we are all unique... (T)his was...meant to be a gift to others to help and inspire them." As a culture, we tend to want to keep our "sex symbols" just that, and don't like to be confused with nuances. Farrah Fawcett's illness has forced us to regard someone with all the complexity due her, and maybe to think about the value of those "pop culture icons" we take so much for granted. Fawcett's legacy shouldn't be whitewashed of her pop-cultural influence - this was important to defining an era, not to mention fun - but she also forced us to look beyond that, and this was important. It has to be said: may flights of angels sing you, Farrah.

Farrah Fawcett, Sex Symbol And Actress, Dies [CNN]

Farrah Still Has Her Sense Of Humor, Costar Says [NBC]
9 Million Tune In For NBC Special On Fawcett's Cancer fight, 'Farrah's Story' [NYDN]

R.I.P. Jerri Nielsen

Sadie — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:30:00 EDT

Jerri Nielsen, who made headlines in 1999 for diagnosing and treating herself for breast cancer while stationed as a doctor at the South Pole, has died in Massachusetts. She was 57. [CBS]

R.I.P. Fleur Cowles

Sadie — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:20:00 EDT

Fleur Cowles, famed for helming the short-lived, innovative Flair magazine, her acumen as a hostess on both sides of the pond, and as author of the memoir She Made Friends and Kept Them, has died at 101. [NYT]

RIP Koko Taylor

Dodai — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:20:00 EDT

Born in Tennessee, the "Queen of the Blues" was a cleaning lady in Chicago before landing a Chess records contract. "Blues is my life," she once said. [NY Times, KokoTaylor.com, AP, YouTube]