Valley of Life | Online Memorial Blog » Obituaries

Norton Buffalo of Steve Miller Band dies

Richard — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:08:56 +0000

Norton Buffalo, the harmonica player who performed with the Steve Miller Band for over 30 years, died last Friday night. He was 58. Buffalo, described as a “virtuoso,” “maestro,” and “one-of-a-kind” performer, was diagnosed with cancer in September. Buffalo joined the Steve Miller Band in 1976 and continued playing with them for the next 33 years. He [...]

Bruce Springsteen’s Cousin Found Dead

Richard — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:20:13 +0000

Lenny Sullivan, assistant road manager and cousin to Bruce Springsteen (pictured left), was found dead in a Kansas City hotel room last night. He was 36. Hours before Springsteen was scheduled to perform, his cousin’s body was discovered at the Intercontinental Hotel in Missouri. Springsteen immediately canceled the concert after learning of his cousin’s death. The following is [...]

Father of “Pop Culture” dies

Richard — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:03:12 +0000

Ray Browne, the professor who pioneered the study of popular culture, died Thursday in his Ohio home. He was 87. In 1968, Browne opened the Center for the Study of Popular Culture at Bowling Green State University. Later, he developed the first academic department devoted to pop culture in 1973. As a result, Browne wrote and edited more than 70 [...]

Vic Mizzy, popular 1960s TV theme songwriter dies

Richard — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:12:03 +0000

American composer, Victor Mizzy, died Saturday of heart failure in his Bel-Air mansion. His funeral was held today in California. He was 93. Mizzy is most well-known for writing the theme songs for Green Acres and The Addams Family which, according to NPR, “made an incalculable contribution to 1960s popular culture.” His themes, usually upbeat and jazzy, still influence TV theme [...]

Ludovic Kennedy, distinguished British scholar, dies at 89

Richard — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:40:08 +0000

Sir Ludovic Kennedy, the journalist, broadcaster, author, and politician, died yesterday at a nursing home in Salisbury, England. He was 89. Kennedy was born in Edinburgh in 1919 to naval officer Edward Kennedy and his wife, Rosalind. During the second World War, Kennedy followed his father into the navy, who would later die in battle. Following the [...]

Stephen Gately, ‘Boyzone’ singer, remembered today

Richard — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:47:11 +0000

Ireland-based boy band, Boyzone, recently lost one of its own. Stephen Gately, 33, died in Spain last Saturday and was remembered by his fellow band members as well as fans and celebrities alike at his funeral in Dublin today. Among others, Sir Elton John, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and fellow boy band Westlife were present at the [...]

Al Martino, “Godfather” singer dies at 82

Richard — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:26:23 +0000

The famed Godfather singer-actor, Al Martino, died yesterday afternoon in the home of his youth. The cause of death has yet to be released. He was 82. Martino, an Italian-American originally born Alfred Cini in 1927, was raised in south Philadelphia working for his family’s masonry business. At 15, he ran away from home to join [...]

Young Runner dies in Baltimore Marathon

Richard — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:02:59 +0000

During the Baltimore Marathon on Saturday, 23-year-old Peter Curtin collapsed near mile 25 of the foot race. Aides from a nearby medical station along the route immediately rushed to help him, but were unsuccessful in their attempts to revive him. Curtin was transported to a nearby hospital where further attempts to provide medical aid were unsuccessful. [...]

Photographer Irving Penn dies

Richard — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:01:18 +0000

Photographer of fashion and celebrity Irving Penn died today in Manhattan, according to a number of sources. The cause of death has yet to be determined. He was 92. Penn was born in New Jersey in 1917. He studied at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art in the 1930s, and his career began in the 1940s [...]

Beau Velasco of ‘The Death Set’ is Dead

Richard — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:43:54 +0000

Beau Velasco, co-founder of the electro-punk group The Death Set, died Sunday in Brooklyn. Details of his death have not been released, but his band mate Johnny Siera posted this message on the band’s website: R.I.P. my dear brother, friend and band mate Beau Velasco. We are all so devastated that I will keep this short. We love [...]

Gap, Inc. Founder Dies at 81

Richard — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:34:11 +0000

Donald Fisher, who co-founded Gap, the retail clothing establishment, with his wife, Doris, died Sunday surrounded by family in his San Francisco home. Fisher had been battling cancer for some time. He was 81. The Fishers opened the first Gap (named in reference to “generation gap”) in 1969, selling mostly denim, and experienced much success during [...]

Father of late Tim Russert dead

Richard — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:12:31 +0000

Tim “Big Russ” Russert, the father of the late Tim Russert of “Meet the Press,” died last Thursday night. According to a statement from the family, Russert died peacefully from natural causes with relatives by his side. He was 85. “While he was affectionately known to the world as ‘Big Russ,’ he carried no more important [...]

Susan Atkins, Manson follower, dies in prison

Richard — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:28:22 +0000

Susan Atkins, follower of the infamous Charles Manson, died in prison late Thursday evening. She was serving a life sentence for being part of one of the most notorious crimes in recent history. She was 61. Atkins was convicted of eight murders, including that of actress Sharon Tate — the pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski — [...]

Art Ferrante of Pop Piano Duo Dies

Richard — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:54:40 +0000

Art Ferrante, a member of the popular piano duo Ferrante & Teicher, died last Saturday in his Florida home. He died at the age of 88 — perhaps one of life’s dark ironies, as 88 is also the number of keys on a traditional piano, the instrument around which Ferrante’s life was focused. Born in Brooklyn [...]

Mary Travers dies, 09.16.09

Richard — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:13:46 +0000

Mary Travers, the famed singer of the 1960s folk band Peter, Paul, and Mary, died last week of complications with her treatment for leukemia. She was 72. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1936, Travers was the daughter of two journalists and is said to have been very socially aware from the beginning. Her family later moved to Albany, [...]

Henry Gibson of “Laugh-In” dies

Richard — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:25:17 +0000

Henry Gibson, the actor most known for his comic role on TV’s “Laugh-In,” died Monday after a brief battle with cancer. He was 73. Gibson spent three seasons with “Laugh-In” and would, most memorably, recite satirical poetry while holding a giant flower. In fact, his created persona “Henry Gibson” is a pun on “Henrik Ibsen,” a [...]

World’s oldest person, Gertrude Baines, dies

Richard — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:26:06 +0000

Last week, on the morning of September 11, the oldest person in the world, Gertrude Baines, died at the age of 115 years, 158 days. Baines died peacefully in her sleep at a local hospital, where she had been residing since the age of 107. Many may remember her face from from Election Day in 2008 [...]

Patrick Swayze Loses Life to Cancer

Richard — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:47:15 +0000

Patrick Swayze died Monday, losing his two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. A statement from his publicist said he died peacefully and surrounded by family. He was 57. Undisputedly known for his roles in Dirty Dancing and Ghost, Swayze had many other features, some of which include The Outsiders, Road House, and Youngblood. An especially talented individual, Swayze also [...]

9/11 Tribute: Frank G. Schott, Jr.

Richard — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:57:29 +0000

Frank G. Schott, Jr. of Massapequa Park in Long Island was a loving husband and father who fell victim to the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2001. He was 39, and he was working as an assistant vice president of technology for Marsh & McLennan on the 96th floor of Tower [...]

Remembering Ted Kennedy, 08.25.09

Richard — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:51:08 +0000

The nation may have seen a political dynasty end last week in the passing of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, who was the last remaining son of the powerful political family. Kennedy, 77, lost his year-long battle with brain cancer last Tuesday within the comforts of his own home. A funeral mass was held last Saturday after [...]

Guitar Legend Les Paul Dies, Name Lives On

Richard — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:19:02 +0000

Les Paul, famed guitar inventor and innovator, died today in White Plains, New York of complications resulting from pneumonia. He was 94. Paul is pictured (right) playing at the New York City club Iridium — a gig which he had held until recently nearly every Monday night since 1983. Born in 1915, as a child Paul began [...]

Modern Architect Charles Gwathmey dies

Richard — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:51:06 +0000

Charles Gwathmey, an architect of modern design known for his high-profile work, died Monday of esophageal cancer in Manhattan. He was 71. Born in 1938, Gwathmey grew up both in North Carolina and New York. In 1962, he received his master’s degree in architecture from Yale after which he spent two years in Europe studying the [...]

Naomi Sims, Pioneer of African-American Modeling, Dies

Richard — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:40:23 +0000

Naomi Sims, the woman who paved the way for African-American models, lost her battle with cancer last Saturday in Newark. She was 61. Sims was born in Oxford, Mississippi, grew up in Pittsburgh, and later moved to New York in order to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In New York, she started posing for [...]

Michael Steinberg, music critic, dies at 80

Richard — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:12:43 +0000

Revered classical music critic Michael Steinberg died last Sunday, July 26. Steinberg was a victim of cancer, which he was diagnosed with more than three years ago. He was 80. Fellow music critic, Tim Smith, offers a thoughtful and enlightening synopsis of Steinberg’s influence in his column, Clef Notes: For anyone in my profession, Mr. Steinberg was [...]

Best-selling novelist E. Lynn Harris dies

Richard — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:34:21 +0000

E. Lynn Harris, a best-selling author whose novels explored the lives of black men in gay relationships, died last Thursday night, according to a statement from his publicist. He was 54. Away from his Atlanta home on a business trip in Los Angeles, Harris collapsed at a hotel and could not be revived. The cause hasn’t yet [...]

Former Indiana Chief Justice Givan dies at 88

Richard — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:27:00 +0000

Former Justice Richard Givan of the Indiana Supreme Court, died Tuesday at his home near Plainfield. He was 88. The Supreme Court, which Givan joined in 1968, announced his death. He spent 26 years on the court, becoming chief justice in 1974, rescinding the title in 1984, but remaining a justice until he retired in 1994. Current Justice Brent [...]

Polish Philosopher dies at 81

Richard — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:23:16 +0000

Leszek Kolakowski, a Polish philosopher and historian, died Friday in Oxford, England, according to the Gazeta Wyborcza in which his family placed a death announcement. He was 81. Kolakowski was long-time resident of England, and died as a result of a sudden, short disease. “His death has elicited an outpouring of eulogistic remembrance in Poland, where [...]

Walter Cronkite, dead at 92

Richard — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:55:35 +0000

Walter Cronkite, the revered and trusted CBS news anchor of nearly 20 years, died yesterday, Friday, July 17. He was 92. The following is a portion of the statement CBS released upon learning of Cronkite’s death: “Cronkite was the biggest name in television news, the king of the anchormen; in fact, he was the reporter for whom [...]

Julius Shulman, famed photographer, dies at 98

Richard — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:28:16 +0000

Modern architecture photographer Julius Shulman passed away Wednesday night in his L.A. home. He was 98. Originally born in Brooklyn to Russian Jewish immigrants, Shulman later moved with his family across the country to California, where he would remain for the remainder of his life. As the story goes, Shulman happened upon architectural photography by chance. [...]

NFL Quarterback dead at 36

Richard — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:41:15 +0000

Former Tennessee Titan quarterback Steve McNair was found dead on Saturday, July 4 in his Nashville condo. Alongside him was his mistress, Sahel Kazemi, a 20 year-old waitress. Both suffered fatal gunshot wounds. At this time, the specifics surrounding the murder(s) are unclear. Saturday and Sunday, mourning fans passed by the condo in a steady stream. [...]