Interesting, overlooked, and significant obituaries from around the world, as they happen, emphasizing the positive achievements of those who have died. Member, Society of Professional Obituary Writers.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Charles Harbutt
Photographer -- via the New York Times. A great shooter who moved away from facts, and towards truth. This fascinating 1997 interview with Margaret Regan outlines his concerns with journalism versus art. "If reality was going to be staged, that disillusioned me with journalism."
Reader: World news on death, mourning, and more
DEATH
A
‘good death’ described – via John Paul at Beaver Countain
Hey, American
guys! This is how you will die – via Chloe Della Costa at Cheat Sheet
Natural
childbirth activist dies as she wished – via Celia and Jenny Kitzinger
Faces of Death
Row
– via Terri Langford in the Texas Tribune
‘The
Lost Ritual of Photographing the Dead’ – via Alison Meier in
Hyperallergic
The
fight for retaining chosen gender identity after death – via April Dembosky
at KQED/NPR
Morbid Anatomy Museum,
Green-Wood Cemetery co-sponsors ‘Common Shade’ series on death – via
Green-Wood Cemetery
’21 Warning
Signs of Your Imminent Death’ – via Eric Bucholz in Cracked
How do
scientists determine an exact time of death? – via the New Zealand Herald
Depoliticizing
end-of-life planning
– via Bruce Jepsen at Forbes
Serving as
midwife and undertaker for 60 years – via Yu Hsueh-lan and Jake Chung in
the Taipei Times
Super-rich fund
immortality projects
– via Tara Clarke at Money Morning
Oscar-nominated
animated short “Coda” explores death – via Aquila Xiao Qi in Taxi
A guide to the
19th Century artists’ graves in New York City – via Alison
Meyer in Hyperallergic
New musical
features dying composer – via Ben Brantley in the New York Times
Doctor
walks the talk, donates her organs – via Madeline Smith The Globe and Mail
MOURNING
Mourning the
Charleston shootings—via
Edward McAllister, Luciana Lopez, and Alana Wise at Reuters
‘The Condition
of Black Life Is One of Mourning’ – via Claudia Rankine in the New York
Times Mafaine
Mourning the
death of a child
– via Eric Meyer in Modern Loss
Incomplete
mourning
– via Sarah Baker at WBUR
Drag
queen honors loving grandmother – via Nigel Duara at the L.A. Times
Songs of grief – via Robert
Darden in the Huffington Post
Dancer and
choreographer creates mourning ritual at morning rush hour – via Siobhan
Burke in the New York Times
Japan mourns
stationmaster cat
– via Danielle Demetrieu at the Telegraph
The
cure for fear, grief, and death – via Dr. Harriet Lerner in Psychology
Today
FUNERALS
Cleveland
funeral home in trouble – via John Caniglia at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
A tough story, but brilliantly reported and beautifully written. Best lede I’ve
read in quite some time.
Performance
artist plans own funeral service – via Nancy Groves in the Guardian
Are funerals
becoming wacky, happy occasions? – via Jon Kelly in the BBC News
Magazine
In Congo, comedy
trio gets gigs at funerals – via the BBC
Interview with
Nigerian funeral practitioner – via Deolu at Information Nigeria
Portrait
of a funeral singer – via Rob O’Flanagan at the Guelph Mercury
‘Funeral
Insurance: Do You Need It?’ – via Selena Maranjian at the Motley Fool
Funeral director
works without brick-and-mortar funeral home – via Lee Howard at The Day
New wrinkles at
memorial services
– via Krith Morelli at the Tampa Times
The
sad story of abandoned cremains – via Zack Lemon at the Columbus Dispatch
Dedicated
golfers want their ashes on the course – via John Paul Newport at the Wall
Street Journal
OBITS
A most concise
self-penned obituary
– via Hot Topics
Quite a stylish
obituary of Christopher Lee in The Economist. Unsigned and a bit unhinged.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Jacques Sernas
Actor -- via La Repubblica. Fun Fact: The 1956 episode of the TV drama anthology series Conflict "The Man from 1997" shown here stars Sernas, but James Garner's small role in it as a gambler made him noticed, and gave him the role in the TV series Maverick that would make him a star.
Preshy Marker
Actress and singer -- via legacy.com. AKA Esther Somne Reyna. Best remembered as the original Philia in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."
Friday, July 3, 2015
Paolo Piffarerio
Cartoonist -- via La Repubblica. Best known for drawing the popular spy comic Alan Ford from 1975 to 1984.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Bruce Rowland
Drummer best known for work with Joe Cocker, Fairport Convention -- via Ultimate Classic Rock. Also a prolific session drummer, he can be heard on the original recording of "Jesus Christ Superstar."
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Leonard Starr
Cartoonist -- via News from ME. Best known for creating "Mary Perkins, On Stage" and successfully reviving "Little Orphan Annie."
Sergio Sollima
Director and screenwriter; classic creator of pulp fiction -- via La Stampa. One of the three Sergios (with Leone and Corbucci) who made the spaghetti Western great. He started off writing sword-and-sandal epics ("Goliath Against the Giants," "The Fury of Hercules," "Spartacus and the Ten Gladiators"), moved up to spy films, then the Westerns "The Big Gundown," "Face to Face," and "Run, Man, Run." He finished up in TV, helming the successful costume adventure series "Sandokan," but made two early gritty urban thrillers as well -- "Violent City" (aka "The Family") and "Blood in the Streets" (aka "Revolver").
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Joe Bennett
Musician and singer; leader of the Sparkletones -- via goupstate.com. Their big hit in 1957: "Black Slacks."
Chris Thompson
Comedy writer, producer, and director -- via Variety. He created "Bosom Buddies," the sitcom break of Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari -- a hack concept but great execution!
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