Joey Bishop (Joseph Abraham Gottlieb; 3 Feb 1918, New York NY—17 Oct 2007, Newport Beach CA), American comedian, remembered for his deadpan comic delivery, who was the last surviving member of the Hollywood clique known as the Rat Pack that included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Peter Lawford; Bishop appeared with the Rat Pack in the films Ocean’s Eleven (1960) and Sergeants Three (1962), and he also hosted his own talk show.
Bert Richard Johannes Bolin (15 May 1925, Nykoping, Sweden—30 Dec 2007, Stockholm, Sweden), Swedish meteorologist who was the founding chairman (1988-97) of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the corecipient (with former US vice president Al Gore) of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace; he was also the scientific director at the European Space Agency, and he did significant fundamental research into the carbon cycle in nature.
Philipp von Boselager (6 Sep 1917, Burg Heimerzheim, near Bonn, Germany—1 May 2008, Altenahr, Germany), German army officer who provided the plastic explosives for the briefcase bomb that was used in the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler by German officers on 20 Jul 1944.
Christopher Bowman (30 Mar 1967, Los Angeles CA—10 Jan 2008, North Hills CA), American figure skater who was dubbed “Bowman the Showman” because of his flamboyance on the ice and his ability to thrill a crowd with his dynamic performances; he captured the US men’s figure skating titles in 1989 and 1992 and took a silver (1989) and a bronze medal (1990) at the world championships.
Richard James Bradshaw (26 Apr 1944, Rugby, Warwickshire, England—15 Aug 2007, Toronto, ON, Canada), British-born Canadian conductor who raised the Canadian Opera Company (COC) to international stature and worked tirelessly to bring a purpose-built opera house to Toronto; as a result he was able to launch the COC’s 2006-07 season in the new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
Henry Dreyfuss Brant (15 Sep 1913, Montreal, QC, Canada—26 Apr 2008, Santa Barbara CA), American composer, a musical prodigy whose Ice Field (2001) won the Pulitzer Prize.
Angie Elisabeth Brooks-Randolph (4 Aug 1928, Virginia, Liberia—9 Sep 2007, Houston TX), Liberian jurist and diplomat who in 1969 became only the second woman president of the UN General Assembly; she was appointed to Liberia’s mission to the UN in 1954, and she served for more than two decades; in 1977 she was appointed the first woman associate justice of the Liberian Supreme Court.
Bill Brown (William Alfred Brown; 31 Jul 1912, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia—16 Mar 2008, Brisbane, QLD, Australia), Australian cricketer who was the last pre-World War II Australian Test player and one of the last of the Invincibles of captain Don Bradman’s 1948 touring side that was unbeaten in England.
William F(rank) Buckley, Jr. (24 Nov 1925, New York NY—27 Feb 2008, Stamford CT), American editor, commentator, and writer who became an important intellectual influence in politics as the founder (1955) and editor in chief of the journal National Review, which he used as a forum for conservative views and ideas; his column of political commentary, “On the Right,” appeared regularly in more than 200 newspapers, and he wrote more than 50 books.
(Israel) Cachao (Lopez) (14 Sep 1918, Havana, Cuba—22 Mar 2008, Coral Gables FL), Cuban-born bassist, composer, and bandleader who was credited, along with his brother, Orestes, with the creation of the mambo and salsa; his Master Sessions I (1994) received a Grammy Award, as did iAhora Si! (2004).
Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo y Bustelo (14 Apr 1926, Madrid, Spain—3 May 2008, Pozuelo de Alarcon, near Madrid, Spain), Spanish politician who was the country’s second prime minister (February 1981-December 1982) to preside over the country’s difficult transition from Francisco Franco’s military dictatorship to a modern constitutional monarchy; he was credited with instituting much-needed reforms in post-Franco Spain, negotiating the country’s entry into NATO, and authorizing a degree of autonomy that temporarily quelled rebellion in the factious Basque region.
George (Denis Patrick) Carlin (12 May 1937, New York NY—22 Jun 2008, Santa Monica CA), American comedian who began working in the late 1950s as a low-key stand-up comedian known for such whimsical routines as “Wonderful WINO” and the “Hippy Dippy Weatherman”; beginning in the 1970s, however, he transformed himself into a provocative and incisive antiestablishment comic icon. Carlin was most closely identified with the monologue “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” in which he satirically analyzed the use and misuse of seven of the raunchiest obscenities in the English language; he was honored with the American Comedy Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award (2001) and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2008), and in 2004 cable TV’s Comedy Central network ranked Carlin second on its list of the “100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time,” behind only actor-comedian Richard Pryor.
Cyd Charisse (Tula Ellice Finklea; 8 Mar 1921/22, Amarillo TX—17 Jun 2008, Los Angeles CA), American dancer and actress who won acclaim for her glamorous looks and sensual, technically flawless dancing in 1950s movie musicals, notably The Band Wagon (1953) and Silk Stockings (1957), both with Fred Astaire, and Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and Brigadoon (1954), opposite Gene Kelly; she was awarded a National Medal of the Arts in 2006.
Christodoulos (Christos Paraskevaidis; 17 Jan 1939, Xanthi, Greece—28 Jan 2008, Psychiko, Greece), Greek religious figure who, as leader of the Greek Orthodox Church (archbishop of Athens and All Greece) from 1998, met with Pope John Paul II in 2001, in a step toward healing the rift between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox churches.
Arthur Charles Clarke (16 Dec 1917, Minehead, Somerset, England—19 Mar 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka), British author who was best known for such visionary science-fiction novels as Rendezvous with Rama (1973) and The Fountains of Paradise (1979)—both of which won Nebula and Hugo awards—as well as for his work on Stanley Kubrick’s hugely successful motion picture 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), which was based on Clarke’s short story “The Sentinel” (1951).
(Magdalena) Cecilia Colledge (28 Nov 1920, London, England—12 Apr 2008, Cambridge MA), British figure skater who competed in the 1932 Winter Olympics at age 11 years and 73 days, the youngest athlete ever to participate in the Winter Games; she was the first woman to complete a double jump in competition (a double salchow) and was credited with inventing the camel spin, the lay-back spin, and the Colledge one-foot axel jump.
John George Melvin Compton (29 Apr 1925, Canouan island, British Windward Islands [now in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]—7 Sep 2007, Castries, Saint Lucia), Saint Lucian politician who was instrumental in negotiating the independence of Saint Lucia from Britain (1979) and served three times as prime minister (1979, 1982-96, 2006-07), governing as a pro-Western conservative and supporting economic diversification and pan-Caribbean cooperation.
Pearl Cornioley (Cecile Pearl Witherington; 24 Jun 1914, Paris, France—24 Feb 2008, Loire Valley, France), British wartime agent who, as an operative of the British Special Operations Executive, parachuted into occupied France under the code name Pauline and by May 1944 was overseeing some 3,000 French Resistance fighters engaged in guerrilla warfare against German troops; she was made CBE in 2004 and was also a member of the French Legion of Honor.
Richard Gordon Darman (10 May 1943, Charlotte NC—25 Jan 2008, Washington DC), American government official who served in the cabinets of four US presidents (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush) but was best remembered for having advised President Bush to renege on his campaign promise “Read my lips, no new taxes,” which action undermined voters’ trust and was considered to have contributed to Bush’s failure to win reelection in 1992.
Michael Ellis DeBakey (7 Sep 1908, Lake Charles LA—11 Jul 2008, Houston TX), American cardiovascular surgeon and educator who pioneered surgical procedures for the treatment of defects and diseases of the cardiovascular system; in 1932 he devised the “roller pump,” an essential component that permitted open-heart surgery, and he also performed the first successful carotid endarterectomy for stroke (1953), the first successful coronary artery bypass (1964), and the first successful implantation of a ventricular assist device (1966); he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal (2008), the highest civilian award given by the US Congress.
Norman Dello Joio (24 Jan 1913, New York NY—24 Jul 2008, East Hampton NY), American composer whose Meditation on Ecclesiastes for string orchestra won the Pulitzer Prize in music in 1957.
Bo Diddley (Otha Ellas Bates; Ellas McDaniel; 30 Dec 1928, McComb MS—2 Jun 2008, Archer FL), American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was one of the most influential performers of rock music’s early period. Raised mostly in Chicago by his adoptive family, he recorded for the legendary blues label Chess Records; though Diddley’s songs hit the pop charts just five times and the top 20 only once, he was nevertheless one of rock’s most innovative artists because he had developed his own beat, known as “hambone” or “shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits”; in 1987 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Giuseppe Di Stefano (24 Jul 1921, Motta Santa Anastasia, Sicily, Italy—3 Mar 2008, Santa Maria Hoe, near Milan, Italy), Italian lyric tenor who was hailed as one of the finest operatic tenors of his generation, performing memorably in such operas as La traviata, Rigoletto, Faust, L’elisir d’amore, Un ballo in maschera, and Tosca.
Dith Pran (27 Sep 1942, Siemreab, Cambodia—30 Mar 2008, New Brunswick NJ), Cambodian photo-journalist and interpreter who was the model for the lead character in the film The Killing Fields (1984), based on the 1980 article “The Death and Life of Dith Pran” by New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg; Dith acted as Schanberg’s assistant (1972-75) as they covered the Cambodian civil war, and when the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975, he was taken prisoner, tortured, and put to work as a farm laborer, nearly starving in conditions of virtual slavery.
Janez Drnovsek (17 May 1950, Celje, Yugoslavia [now in Slovenia]—23 Feb 2008, Zaplana, Slovenia), Slovenian politician who helped lead Slovenia to a relatively peaceful independence from Yugoslavia and, as the new country’s prime minister (14 May 1992-3 May 2000 and 17 Nov 2000-11 Dec 2002) and president (2002-07), led it to membership in NATO and the EU.
Will Elder (Wolf William Eisenberg; 22 Sep 1922, Bronx NY—14 May 2008, Rockleigh NJ), American illustrator who earned a reputation for his lavish, wildly irreverent drawings for such magazines as Mad and Playboy.
Albert Ellis (27 Sep 1913, Pittsburgh PA—24 Jul 2007, New York NY), American psychologist who developed the psychotherapeutic approach known as rational emotive behavior therapy; in 1982 an American Psychological Association ranked Ellis second only to Carl R. Rogers on a list of the most influential persons in their field.
Angus Fairhurst (4 Oct 1966, Pembury, Kent, England— 29 Mar 2008, Bridge of Orchy, Argyll, Scotland), British artist who was a founding member (with Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas) of the Young British Artists group thatdominated British art in the 1990s; he was perhaps best known for a series of artworks featuring bronze representations of gorillas.
Clay Schuette Felker (2 Oct 1925, St. Louis MO—1 Jul 2008, New York NY), American magazine editor who was credited with the creation of a widely imitated magazine formula during his tenure as editor of New York magazine, which combined glossy pages and unique typography with thoughtful literary articles that targeted the city’s intellectual elite.
Bobby Fischer (Robert James Fischer; 9 Mar 1943, Chicago IL—17 Jan 2008, Reykjavik, Iceland), American-born chess master who became the youngest grandmaster in history in 1958; he drew the attention of the American public to the game of chess, particularly when he defeated Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in a highly publicized match held in Reykjavik in 1972 and became the first native-born American to hold the title of world champion; Fischer went into seclusion in 1992, in part because he had violated US restrictions on participating in events in Yugoslavia, and in 2004 he was detained in Tokyo after authorities discovered that his US passport had been revoked. In 2005 he was granted Icelandic citizenship, however, and within days of the decision he was flown to Reykjavik.
Dan(iel Grayling) Fogelberg (13 Aug 1951, Peoria IL— 16 Dec 2007, Maine), American singer-songwriter who captured the essence of the mellow, folk-tinged pop music that emerged in America in the 1960s and ’70s; his best-known songs include “Longer,” “Hard To Say,” “Same Old Lang Syne,” and “Leader of the Band.”
Steve Fossett (22 Apr 1944, Jackson TN—disap-peared 3 Sep 2007, northern Nevada), American adventurer who set a number of world records in aviation and sailing; he became the first balloonist to circumnavigate the world alone in 2002, made the first nonstop solo global flight in an airplane in 2005, and undertook the longest nonstop airplane flight in 2006; reported missing after his single-engine plane disappeared, he was declared legally dead in February 2008.
Georgia Irwin Frontiere (21 Nov 1927, St. Louis MO— 18 Jan 2008, Los Angeles CA), American sports executive who became the first female owner of an NFL team in 1979; enduring criticisms that a woman could not handle ownership of a professional football franchise, she watched her St. Louis Rams win the Super Bowl in 2000.
Estelle Getty (Estelle Scher Gettleman; 25 Jul 1923, New York NY—22 Jul 2008, Los Angeles CA), American actress who earned a legion of fans and seven straight Emmy Award nominations (1986-92; she won in 1988)for her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo, the sharp-tongued octogenarian in NBC television’s situation comedy The Golden Girls (1985-92).
Abdul Rashid Ghazi (1964?, Pakistan?—9-10 Jul 2007, Islamabad, Pakistan), Pakistani Islamic militant who was the younger son of Maulana Abdullah, founder of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque); he was among those killed in the fighting when Pakistani troops stormed the mosque compound after an eight-day standoff.
Angel Gonzalez (6 Sep 1925, Oviedo, Spain—12 Jan 2008, Madrid, Spain), Spanish poet who was a respected member of the “Generation of 1950″; his socially engaged poetic works were informed by his experience growing up during the Spanish Civil War and living during the subsequent rule of Gen. Francisco Franco; Gonzalez was given the 1985 Prince of Asturias Award for Letters and served as a member of the Royal Spanish Academy from 1997.
Robert Gerard Goulet (26 Nov 1933, Lawrence MA— 30 Oct 2007, Los Angeles CA), American singer and actor who possessed a rich baritone voice and matinee-idol good looks that fueled his rise to stardom as a recording artist and actor in musicals; he burst onto the American scene in 1960 when he played Sir Lancelot in the original Broadway production of Camelot, and in 1962 he won the Grammy Award for best new artist (he would place 16 albums on the charts by the end of the decade); he won an Emmy Award in 1966 for his work in Brigadoon, and a Tony Award came in 1968 for his performance in the Broadway musical The Happy Time.
Julien Gracq (Louis Poirier; 27 Jul 1910, Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, France—22 Dec 2007, Angers, France), French writer whose best-known novel, Le Rivage des Syrtes (1951), was awarded the Prix Goncourt, France’s highest literary honor (though he declined it).
Simon (James Holliday) Gray (21 Oct 1936, Hayling Island, Hampshire, England—6 Aug 2008, London, England), British dramatist who wrote plays, often set in academia, that were noted for their challenging story lines, complex characterizations, and witty, highly literary dialogue; his best-known work— and first international success—was Butley (1971; filmed 1974), a play about a petulant university professor whose venomous wit masks an inner emptiness; Gray was made CBE in 2005.
Merv Griffin (Mervyn Edward Griffin; 6 Jul 1925, San Mateo CA—12 Aug 2007, Los Angeles CA), American television personality and producer who was the congenial host of The Merv Griffin Show (1962-63, 1965-86) and the creator of two of television’s most successful game shows, Jeopardy! (1964-75, 1984-) and Wheel of Fortune (1975-); in 2005 he was honored with a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ernest Gary Gygax (27 Jul 1938, Chicago IL—4 Mar 2008, Lake Geneva WI), American inventor who helped create the world’s first role-playing fantasy game, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), and ultimately paved the way for modern interactive video games online; in 1973 he cofounded the company Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), which produced the first edition of D&D the following year.
George Habash (1925/26, Lydda, Palestine [now Lod, Israel]—26 Jan 2008, Amman, Jordan), Palestinian militant who was the founder (1967-2000) of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Earle Harry Hagen (9 Jul 1919, Chicago IL—26 May 2008, Rancho Mirage CA), American musician and songwriter who composed some of the most memorable music for television, including the themes for The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Eight Is Enough, Make Room for Daddy, and The Dukes of Hazzard; he won (1968) an Emmy Award for his creative musical arrangements for the espionage series I Spy.
Oakley Maxwell Hall (pseudonyms O.M. Hall and Jason Manor; 1 Jul 1920, San Diego CA—12 May 2008, Nevada City CA), American novelist who spun tales of the Old West in novels, notably Warlock (1958; filmed 1959), The Bad Lands (1978), and Apaches (1986).
Elizabeth Hardwick (27 Jul 1916, Lexington KY—2 Dec 2007, New York Ny), American novelist, short-story writer, and essayist; as a novelist she was perhaps best known for Sleepless Nights (1979); she helped to found The New York Review of Books in 1963.
Yossi Harel (Yosef Hamburger), (4 Jan 1918?, Jerusalem, British Palestine [now in Israel]—26 Apr 2008, Tel Aviv, Israel), Israeli Zionist and intelligence officer who commanded the ship Exodus 1947, which carried more than 4,500 Jewish Holocaust survivors to Haifa, Palestine, where a blockade by the British prevented the refugees from landing; the incident was later dramatized in Leon Uris’s novel Exodus (1958; filmed 1960).
Rene Reynaldo Harris (11 Nov 1947?, Nauru—5 Jul 2008, Nauru), Nauruan politician who served four times (27 Apr 1999-20 Apr 2000; 30 Mar 2001-9 Jan 2003; 17-18 Jan 2003; 8 Aug 2003-22 Jun 2004) as Nauru’s president; his 31 years (1977-2008) as a member of the country’s Parliament made him Nauru’s longest-serving politician; in 2001 Harris and Australian Prime Minister John Howard negotiated the controversial “Pacific Solution,” in which Nauru received millions of dollars in financial aid in exchange for maintaining detention centers for Australia-bound asylum seekers.
Bill Hartack (William John Hartack, Jr.; 9 Dec 1932, Ebensburg PA—26 Nov 2007, near Freer TX), American jockey who was the second jockey ever to win five Kentucky Derby races and the first to win US$2 million in a single year (in 1956), a record he broke the following year by earning US$3 million; he was the national champion jockey in 1955, 1956, 1957, and in 1960.
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. (20 Aug 1942, Covington TN—10 Aug 2008, East Memphis TN), American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor who was a pioneering figure in soul music whose recordings influenced the development of such musical genres as disco, rap, and urban contemporary; known for his shaved head, dark sunglasses, and smooth baritone voice, he was perhaps best remembered for his compelling sound track for the 1971 film Shaft, the title song ofwhich, “Theme from Shaft,” became a number one hit and earned Hayes an Academy Award for best original song. Hayes reached his greatest popularity in the late 1960s and ’70s, placing (1969-76) 10 consecutive albums on the American pop and rhythm-and-blues charts; he was inducted in 2002 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
(Barton) Lee Hazlewood (9 Jul 1929, Mannford OK— 4 Aug 2007, Henderson NV), American singer-songwriter and music producer who was a pioneer of country rock and achieved fame as the writer and producer of “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” which became a number one hit in 1966 for singer Nancy Sinatra; he collaborated with her on nine albums and four top 10 singles.
Jeff Healey (Norman Jeffrey Healey; 25 Mar 1966, Toronto, ON, Canada—2 Mar 2008, Toronto, ON, Canada), blind Canadian musician who was a virtuoso guitarist who played the instrument positioned flat on his lap; he sold millions of records with his Jeff Healey Band and reached the apex of his career with the single “Angel Eyes,” which scaled the Billboard Hot 100 chart to number 5 in 1989.
W(ilfred) C(harles) Heinz (11 Jan 1915, Mount Vernon NY—27 Feb 2008, Bennington VT), American journalist and novelist who helped usher in New Journalism, which combined traditional reporting with the techniques of fiction; among his novels is MASH (1968).
Jesse (Alexander) Helms (18 Oct 1921, Monroe NC— 4 Jul 2008, Raleigh NC), American politician who, as a longtime member (1973-2003) of the US Senate, was a leading figure in the conservative movement. Nicknamed “Senator No,” he maintained a staunchly right-wing stance on social issues, leading crusades against abortion and homosexuality, supporting prayer in public schools, and opposing the busing of students for racial integration, but he was perhaps best known for his vehement opposition to civil rights and gay rights. Portrayed by his critics as a demagogue, an extremist, and a bigot—he famously opposed the creation of a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.— Helms nevertheless displayed formidable skills as a politician and was reelected four times (1978, 1984, 1990, and 1996).
Leona Helmsley (Leona Mindy Rosenthal; 4 Jul 1920, Marbletown NY—20 Aug 2007, Greenwich CT), American hotel magnate who was dubbed “the queen of mean” as a result of her imperious manner and abusive treatment of employees of Helms-ley Hotels, of which she became president in 1980; she added to her notoriety by leaving her pet Maltese a US$12 million trust fund in her will.
Luis Herrera Camprns (4 May 1925, Acarigua, Venezuela—9 Nov 2007, Caracas, Venezuela), Venezuelan politician who founded the moderate Social Christian Party in 1946 and served as president of Venezuela (1979-84) during a time when the country’s economic boom stemming from high oil prices began to show serious defects; he lost the presidency when he failed to rein in inflation and the government’s spiraling expenditures.
Charlton Heston (John Charlton Carter; 4 Oct 1924, Evanston IL—5 Apr 2008, Beverly Hills CA), American actor who possessed a commanding screen presence with his broad shoulders, chiseled features, and compelling speaking voice and became best known for his role as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956). Heston made his Broadway debut in Antony and Cleopatra (1947), and his first Hollywood film was Dark City (1950); among his numerous subsequent films were Ben-Hur (1959), which won 11 Academy Awards, including a best actor award for Heston, El Cid (1961), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), and Planet of the Apes (1968); he also served as president (1966-71) of the Screen Actors Guild, chairman (1973-83) of the American Film Institute, and president (1998-2003) of the National Rifle Association.
Oliver Hill (Oliver White; 1 May 1907, Richmond VA— 5 Aug 2007, Richmond VA), prominent American civil rights attorney who battled against racial prejudice in numerous cases, most famously the 1954 landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, in which the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools were unconstitutional; in 1999 Hill was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Edmund Percival Hillary (20 Jul 1919, Auckland, New Zealand—11 Jan 2008, Auckland, New Zealand), New Zealand explorer who galvanized the world when, on 29 May 1953, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world; Hillary was knighted immediately after the expedition returned to London; through the Himalayan Trust, which he founded in 1960, Hillary built schools, hospitals, and airfields for the Himalayan peoples, especially the Sherpas, and in 2003 he was made an honorary citizen of Nepal.
Patrick John Hillery (2 May 1923, Milltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland—12 Apr 2008, Dublin, Ireland), Irish politician who served (1976-90) as the sixth president of Ireland; when his first presidential term of office ended in 1983, he indicated that he did not intend to seek a second term but changed his mind when all three political parties pleaded with him to reconsider.
Albert Hofmann (11 Jan 1906, Baden, Switzerland— 29 Apr 2008, Burg, Switzerland), Swiss chemist who discovered the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which he first synthesized in 1938 by isolating compounds found in the fungus ergot; he spent years investigating LSD’s hallucinogenic properties in the belief that the drug would one day be useful in the therapeutic treatment of schizophrenics and other psychiatric patients.
Brendan Hughes (“The Dark”; 1948, Belfast, Northern Ireland—16 Feb 2008, Belfast, Northern Ireland), Irish militant who was a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA); in the Maze prison, he led protests, including a 53-day hunger strike in 1980.
Rex Humbard (the Rev. Alpha Rex Emmanuel Hum-bard; 13 Aug 1919, Little Rock AR—21 Sep 2007, Lantana FL), American televangelist who used the medium of television to spread the gospel to people worldwide through his weekly program Cathedral of Tomorrow, which was broadcast in some 91 languages and at its peak of popularity attracted some 20 million viewers; the show featured revival preaching mixed with lively musical numbers, including songs performed by guest performers such as Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.
Leonid Hurwicz (21 Aug 1917, Moscow, Russian Em-pire—24 Jun 2008, Minneapolis MN), Russian-born American economist who shared (with Eric S. Maskin and Roger B. Myerson) the 2007 Nobel Prize for Economics for his formulation of mechanism design theory.
Henry John Hyde (18 Apr 1924, Chicago IL—29 Nov 2007, Chicago IL), American politician who served in the US House of Representatives (1975-2007), where he was at the forefront of a group of Republicans who in 1998 monitored the impeachment hearings of Pres. Bill Clinton; he was the ranking Republican on the House Select Committee on Intelligence (1985-91), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (1995-2001), and chairman of the House International Relations Committee (2001-07); he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007.
Lady Bird Johnson (Claudia Alta Taylor; 22 Dec 1912, Karnack TX—11 Jul 2007, Austin TX), American first lady who was the wife of Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States (1963-69), and was a noted environmentalist; she married Johnson on 17 Nov 1934, just a few months after their first meeting, and she gave birth to two daughters, Lynda Bird in 1944 and Luci Baines in 1947; following her husband’s 1964 election she concentrated on Head Start, a program aimed at helping preschool children from disadvantaged backgrounds, but she was most closely identified with an environmental program, called “beautification,” that sought to encourage people to make their surroundings more attractive, and she urged Congress to pass the Highway Beautification Bill, which was strenuously opposed by billboard advertisers. After the Johnsons retired to their ranch in Texas, she established the National Wildflower Research Center (now the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center); in 1977 she was awarded the Medal of Freedom for her conservation efforts.
Tom (Thomas Christian) Johnson (18 Feb 1928, Bal-dur, MB, Canada—21 Nov 2007, Falmouth MA), Canadian ice hockey player and coach who played 15 seasons (1947-48, 1949-63) for the Montreal Canadiens, during which time he helped lead the team to six Stanley Cup titles (1953, 1956-60); he received the Norris Trophy in 1959 as the NHL’s best defenseman, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970.
Hamilton Jordan (William Hamilton McWhorter Jordan; 21 Sep 1944, Charlotte NC—20 May 2008, Atlanta GA), American political strategist and government official who was a highly influential adviser to Jimmy Carter during the latter’s successful 1976 US presidential campaign and later served as chief of staff in the Carter administration.
Deborah Kerr (Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer; 30 Sep 1921, Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, Scotland—16 Oct 2007, Suffolk, England), British actress who was known for her poise and serenity; she won the New York Film Critics’ Circle Award for Black Narcissus (1947), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) and The Sundowners (1960), and the scene from From Here to Eternity (1953) of Kerr and Burt Lancaster making love on the beach became a classic Hollywood image; she was awarded an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar in 1994 and was created CBE in 1997.
Mustafa Khalil (18 Nov 1920, Kalyoubieh, Egypt—7 Jun 2008, Cairo, Egypt), Egyptian politician who, as Egypt’s prime minister (1978-80) and foreign minister (1979-80), helped to secure the Camp David Accords (1978) and subsequent peace treaty (1979) between his country and Israel, an action that set the framework for other Arab states to make peace with Israel.
Michael Kidd (Milton Greenwald; 12 Aug 1915, New York NY—23 Dec 2007, Los Angeles CA), American choreographer who collected five Tony Awards for his stage choreography—for Finian’s Rainbow (1947), Guys and Dolls (1951), Can-Can (1953), Li’l Abner (1957), and Destry Rides Again (1959)—and was presented a special Academy Award in 1997.
Evel Knievel (Robert Craig Knievel; 17 Oct 1938, Butte MT—30 Nov 2007, Clearwater FL), American motorcycle daredevil who captivated audiences with more than 300 death-defying aerial stunts and horrified them with his bone-shattering crashes when he failed; perhaps his most famous stunts were a spectacular jump in 1968 over the fountains at Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas in which he botched the landing and fractured his skull and a failed attempt in 1974 to soar over the Snake River Canyon in Idaho using a rocket-powered motorcycle.
Harvey Herschel Korman (15 Feb 1927, Chicago IL— 29 May 2008, Los Angeles CA), American comedian who delighted television viewers with the screwball roles he created as part of the ensemble cast of The Carol Burnett Show—during Korman’s 10 seasons (1967-77) with the program, he garnered four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award; he later starred in The Harvey Korman Show (1978), The Tim Conway Show (1980-81), and Mama’s Family (reprising the Burnett show character Ed Higgins).
Arthur Kornberg (3 Mar 1918, Brooklyn NY—26 Oct 2007, Stanford CA), American biochemist and physician who was corecipient (with Severo Ochoa) of the 1959 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering the means by which DNA molecules are duplicated in the bacterial cell; his son Roger D. Kornberg won the 2006 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and they became the sixth father-son tandem to win Nobel Prizes.
Laszlo Kovacs (14 May 1933, Cece, Hungary—22 Jul 2007, Beverly Hills CA), Hungarian-born American cinematographer who photographed more than 70 notable films of the 1960s and ’70s that represented the rise of a new independent cinema, beginning with Easy Rider (1969), in which he made the landscape a vital part of the movie; his most acclaimed work includes photography on director Bob Rafelson’s Five Easy Pieces (1970) and Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York (1977).
Willis Eugene Lamb, Jr. (12 Jul 1913, Los Angeles CA—15 May 2008, Tucson AZ), American physicist who was corecipient, with Polykarp Kusch, of the 1955 Nobel Prize for Physics for experimental work that spurred refinements in the quantum theories of electromagnetic phenomena.
Metropolitan Laurus (Vassily Mikhailovich Skurla; 1 Jan 1928, Ladomirovo, Czechoslovakia [now in Slo-vakia]—16 Mar 2008, Jordanville NY), Czech religious leader who was instrumental in reconciling the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and its parent church in Russia; in 2001 he was elected metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and in 2007 he exchanged kisses with Alexis II, the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, at a historic ceremony at which a reunification pact was signed.
Joshua Lederberg (23 May 1925, Montclair NJ—2 Feb 2008, New York NY), American geneticist who was a pioneer in the field of bacterial genetics and shared the 1958 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering the mechanisms of genetic recombination in bacteria.
Heath Ledger (Heathcliff Andrew Ledger; 4 Apr 1979, Perth, WA, Australia—22 Jan 2008, New York NY), Australian actor who was renowned for his moving and intense performances in diverse motion-picture roles, in particular the taciturn and tormented cowboy Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain (2005), for which he won best actor honors from the Australian Film Institute and received a nomination in the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Golden Globes; he also won critical acclaim for his varied roles in The Patriot (2000), Monster’s Ball (2001), Lords of Dogtown and Casanova (both 2005), and Candy (2006).
Sherman Emery Lee (19 Apr 1918, Seattle WA—9 Jul 2008, Chapel Hill Nc), American museum director who elevated the Cleveland Museum of Art from a relatively obscure institution to an internationally renowned art museum.
Madeleine L’Engle (Madeleine L’Engle Camp; Madeleine Franklin; 29 Nov 1918, New York NY—6 Sep 2007, Litchfield CT), American author who wrote imaginative juvenile literature; in her best-known work, the 1963 Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time (1962), L’Engle introduced a group of children who engage in a cosmic battle against a great evil that abhors individuality, and she continued the story in A Wind in the Door (1973), A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978), and Many Waters (1986).
Ira Marvin Levin (27 Aug 1929, New York NY—12 Nov 2007, New York NY), American author who thrilled readers with his best-selling Gothic and suspense novels, most famously A Kiss Before Dying (1953), Rosemary’s Baby (1967), and The Stepford Wives (1972), and also produced a number of plays, notably Deathtrap, which ran for nearly 1,800 performances on Broadway; in 2003 the Mystery Writers of America conferred on him the Grand Master Award.
Alfonso Lopez Michelsen (30 Jun 1913, Bogota, Colombia—11 Jul 2007, Bogota, Colombia), Colombian politician who won election in 1974 as president in a landslide victory for the centrist Liberal Party and took immediate steps to curb inflation and raise taxes on high incomes; the elimination of price subsidies and a rise in unemployment, however, led to a surge in labor unrest, land seizures by peasants, and guerrilla activity, and in 1975 Lopez Michelsen declared a state of siege.
Alfonso Cardinal Lopez Trujillo (8 Nov 1935, Villaher-mosa, Colombia—19 Apr 2008, Rome, Italy), Colombian Roman Catholic prelate who exerted enormous influence as a conservative leader in the Latin American Bishops’ Council and as president of the Pontifical Council for the Family; he was unwavering in his opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage, and condoms.
Kermit Ernest Hollingshead Love (7 Aug 1916, Spring Lake NJ—21 Jun 2008, Poughkeepsie NY), American costume designer who delighted children and adults alike with the puppets that he created for the American television program Sesame Street, especially the perenniallysix-year-old 2.5-m (8-ft 2-in) Big Bird, the woolly mammoth-like Mr. Snuffleupagus, Oscar the Grouch, and Cookie Monster.
Mildred Loving (Mildred Delores Jeter; 22 Jul 1939, Virginia—2 May 2008, Central Point VA), American civil-rights activist who was one of the plaintiffs in the landmark 1967 US Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, in which the court overturned longstanding miscegenation laws that had prohibited interracial marriages.
Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger (Aaron Lustiger; 17 Sep 1926, Paris, France—5 Aug 2007, Paris, France), French cleric who converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism and went on to become archbishop of Paris (1981-2005), the head of the Roman Catholic Church in France; he worked throughout his career for Jewish-Christian reconciliation.
Bernie Mac (Bernard Jeffrey McCullough; 5 Oct 1957, Chicago IL—9 Aug 2008, Chicago IL), American comedian and actor who earned two Emmy nominations (2002 and 2003) for his portrayal of a high-strung comedian looking after his drug-addicted sister’s three children on the television series The Bernie Mac Show (2001-06); he also achieved box-office success with roles in such films as Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and its two sequels and Charlie’s Angels:Full Throttle (2003).
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1917?, Jabalpur, British India—5 Feb 2008, Vlodrop, Netherlands), Hindu religious leader who introduced the practice of transcendental meditation to the West; his first world tour took place in 1959, and in the late 1960s, the English rock group the Beatles and other celebrities began to join his following; the principles of transcendental meditation are discussed in his books The Science of Being and Art of Living (1963) and Meditations of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1968).
Norman (Kingsley) Mailer (31 Jan 1923, Long Branch NJ—10 Nov 2007, New York NY), American novelist and journalist who was best known for New Journalism, which combines the imaginative subjectivity of literature with the more objective qualities of journalism; among his best works are The Naked and the Dead (1948), hailed as one of the finest American novels to come out of World War II, The Armies of the Night (1968), based on the Washington peace demonstrations of October 1967 and which won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award, and The Executioner’s Song (1979), a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel based on the life of convicted murderer Gary Gilmore.
Chris Mainwaring (27 Dec 1965, Geraldton, WA, Aus-tralia—1 Oct 2007, Perth, WA, Australia), Australian Rules Football player who was one of the most popular players in the Australian Football League (aFl); during his 13 seasons with the West Coast Eagles (1987-99), he scored 84 goals (including in pre-mierships in 1992 and 1994), and he was a member of the AFL All-Australian squad in 1991 and 1996.
Anthony Joseph Mamo (9 Jan 1909, Birkirkara, Malta—1 May 2008, Mosta, Malta), Maltese jurist and statesman who was the first president (1974-76) of the independent Republic of Malta and came to be regarded as a symbol of the new country; he was made OBE in 1955, knighted in 1960, and created a Companion of Honour in the National Order of Merit in 1990.
Abby Mann (Abraham Goodman; 1 Dec 1927, Philadelphia PA—25 Mar 2008, Beverly Hills CA), American screenwriter who examined the Nazi war-crimes trials in the film Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), for which he won an Academy Award for best screenplay, and was the creator of the TV series Kojak (1973-78), inspired by his Emmy Award-winning The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973).
Delbert Martin Mann, Jr. (30 Jan 1920, Lawrence KS—11 Nov 2007, Los Angeles CA), American film and television director who applied the low-budget intimacy of television to the big screen in film adaptations of such teleplays as Marty (1955), for which Mann received an Academy Award, and The Bachelor Party (1957), both classics created by playwright Paddy Chayefsky; Mann also served as president of the Directors Guild of America (1969-71).
Martin Ellyot Manulis (30 May 1915, New York NY— 28 Sep 2007, Los Angeles CA), American television and film producer who was the creator and sole producer of more than 60 segments of Playhouse 90 (1956-61), a 90-minute dramatic live anthology series that won six Emmy Awards in its first season and five Emmys in its second season.
Marcel Marceau (Marcel Mangel; 22 Mar 1923, Strasbourg, France—22 Sep 2007, Cahors, France), French mime who revived interest in the ancient art of mime through his silent portrayals executed with eloquence and balletic grace; his most celebrated characterization was the white-faced Pierrot-like Bip; worldwide acclaim came in the 1950s with his production of a “mimodrama” of Nikolay Gogol’s “The Overcoat”; Marceau also acted in several movies, including Silent Movie (1976), in which he had the only spoken dialogue; the recipient of numerous honors, Marceau in 1970 was made an officer of the Legion of Honor.
Dick Martin (Thomas Richard Martin; 30 Jan 1922, Battle Creek MI—24 May 2008, Santa Monica CA), American comedian who was the cohost, with straight man Dan Rowan, of the hit television variety show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (1968-73).
Manuel Marulanda Velez (Pedro Antonio Marin; “Tirofijo”; 12 May 1930?, Genova, Colombia—26 Mar 2008, unknown mountain encampment, Colombia), Colombian guerrilla leader who was a founder (1964) and commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), estimated to possess some 10,000 to 15,000 armed soldiers and thousands of supporters; FARC supported a redistribution of assets from the wealthy to the poor and opposed the influence that multinational corporations and foreign governments (particularly the United States) had on Colombia.
Jim McKay (James Kenneth McManus; 24 Sep 1921, Philadelphia PA—7 Jun 2008, Monkton MD), American sportscaster and journalist who was a pioneer in American television sports coverage; as the sagacious and personable host (from 1961) of the groundbreaking ABC show The Wide World of Sports, he was one of the most recognizable faces on American TV, and in 1968 he became the first TV sports commentator to win an Emmy Award (he won 13 altogether, including a 1990 award for lifetime achievement). McKay gained international acclaim for his uninterrupted 16-hour coverage of the Israeli hostage crisis during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich; he covered 12 Olympics in all and also anchored TV coverage of the Indianapolis 500 for many years as well as numerous Triple Crown horse races and professional golf tournaments.
Pierre August Joseph Messmer (20 Mar 1916, Vin-cennes, France—29 Aug 2007, Paris, France), French Gaullist administrator and politician who was minister for the armed forces (1960-69) and prime minister (1972-74) of France; he helped quell an attempted coup by army officers in 1961 during Algeria’s war for independence from France, and he also oversaw development of France’s nuclear weapons program.
Tammy Faye Messner (Tammy Faye LaValley; Tammy Faye Bakker; 7 Mar 1942, International Falls MN— 20 Jul 2007, near Kansas City MO), American tele-vangelist who was best remembered as the diminutive wife of Jim Bakker and as his cohost on the televised Jim and Tammy Show, which was syndicated on the Praise the Lord Network, founded by the couple in 1974; the couple built a US$125 million empire that included Heritage USA, a religious theme park, and were often criticized for their lavish spending; in 1987 they lost their TV ministry following a series of sex and money scandals, and she and Bakker divorced after he was convicted in 1989 of having bilked followers of US$158 million.
James Walker Michaels (17 Jun 1921, Buffalo NY—2 Oct 2007, New York NY), American magazine editor who was credited with having transformed the reporting of business journalism during his tenure as editor of Forbes magazine (1961-99).
Buddy Miles (George Allen Miles, Jr.; 5 Sep 1947, Omaha NE—26 Feb 2008, Austin TX), American drummer and singer who was best known as the drummer in the Band of Gypsys (with Jimi Hendrix).
Andre Milongo (20 Oct 1935, Mankondi, French Equatorial Africa [now in the Republic of the Congo]—22-23 July 2007, Paris, France), Congolese politician who served as a key figure in his country’s move to independence (1960) and was prime minister (1991-1992); he later joined the boards of governors of the African Development Bank and the World Bank.
Anthony Minghella (6 Jan 1954, Ryde, Isle of Wight— 18 Mar 2008, London, England), British playwright, screenwriter, and director who was one of Britain’s most gifted and admired filmmakers; he won the Academy Award for best director for his third movie, The English Patient (1996); he was named most promising playwright by the London Theatre Critics Circle in 1984 and won the best new play award two years later for Made in Bangkok; he also was made CBE in 2001 and was chairman (2003-08) of the British Film Institute.
Robert Gerald Mondavi (18 Jun 1913, Virginia MN— 16 May 2008, Yountville CA), American winemaker who created American wines that rivaled European labels and helped generate the rebirth of California’s wine industry; he was honored (2005) with the French Legion of Honor, and in 2007 he was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
Norman Morrice (10 Sep 1931, Agua Dulce, Mexico— 11 Jan 2008, London, England), British choreographer and dance director who incorporated elements of modern dance into ballet; he was artistic director of the Royal Ballet (1977-86).
Barry Morse (Herbert Morse; 10 Jun 1918, London, England—2 Feb 2008, London, England), British actor who appeared in some 3,000 stage and screen roles over a seven-decade (1935-2005) career, but his other achievements were overshadowed by his portrayal of Lieut. Philip Gerard, the tenacious police detective who relentlessly pursued the title character in the American television series The Fugitive (1963-67).
Bobby Ray Murcer (20 May 1946, Oklahoma City OK—12 Jul 2008, Oklahoma City OK), American baseball player and broadcaster who was a dependable center fielder and batter and was named to five consecutive All-Star teams (for the New York Yankees [1971-74] and the San Francisco Giants [1975]); during his 17 major league seasons, he slammed 252 home runs, had 1,043 runs batted in, and recorded a career batting average of .277.
Ken Nelson (Kenneth F. Nelson; 19 Jan 1911, Caledonia MN—6 Jan 2008, Somis CA), American record producer who helped define the smooth country-pop Nashville Sound and the twangy California-based Bakersfield Sound through his low-key approach in studio sessions; he cofounded (1958) the Country Music Association and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
Larry David Norman (8 Apr 1947, Corpus Christi TX— 24 Feb 2008, Salem OR), American singer-songwriter who is generally regarded as the father of Christian rock music—his Upon This Rock(1969) was hailed as the first Christian rock album—and in 2001 was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
Joe Nuxhall (Joseph Henry Nuxhall; 30 Jul 1928, Hamilton OH—15 Nov 2007, Fairfield OH), American baseball player and broadcaster who made his MLB debut in 1944 as a pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds at the age of15 years 10 months 11 days, becoming the youngest player to appear in a game in the modern MLB era; he was named an All-Star in 1955 and 1956.
Joe O’Donnell (Joseph Roger O’Donnell; 7 May 1922, Johnstown PA—9 Aug 2007, Nashville TN), American photographer who documented the effects of the nuclear bombing in 1945 of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; his official photographs were taken for the US Marines, but he also amassed a private collection that was shown in Japan in 1995 and appeared in Japan 1945: A US Marine’s Photos from Ground Zero (2005); he became an activist opposed to nuclear weapons.
Al(fred) Oerter (Jr.) (19 Sep 1936, Queens NY—1 Oct 2007, Fort Myers FL), American discus thrower who won four consecutive Olympic gold medals (1956, 1960,1964, and 1968), setting an Olympic record each time; he also set world records four times (1962-64) during his career and won six national Amateur Athletic Union titles in college, and he was in the first class to be inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame (1983).
Norm O’Neill (Norman Clifford O’Neill; 19 Feb 1937, Carlton, near Sydney, Australia—3 Mar 2008, Sydney), Australian cricketer who was heralded as the new Don Bradman for his brilliant stroke making; he was perhaps best known for his score of 181 runs in the famous tied Test against West Indies in 1960.
Randy Pausch (Randolph Frederick Pausch; 23 Oct 1960, Baltimore MD—25 Jul 2008, Chesapeake VA), American computer scientist who delivered in September 2007 his celebrated “Last Lecture” on time management, an inspirational and uplifting testimonial, at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh; the speech became an international hit on the Internet and was the subject in 2008 of a best-selling non-fiction book (The Last Lecture, with Jeffrey Zaslow). Pausch, who in September 2006 was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, discovered shortly before giving the lecture that he had only a few more months to live, and he prepared the speech titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” as a type of time capsule for his three young children. In May 2008 he was named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
Luciano Pavarotti (12 Oct 1935, Modena, Italy—6 Sep 2007, Modena, Italy), Italian operatic lyric tenor who was considered one of the finest bel canto opera singers of his time; after winning the Concorso Internazionale, a singing competition, he made his professional operatic debut in Reggio Emilia, Italy, in 1961 and his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City in 1968. He toured the world, performing for as many as 500,000 fans at concerts as a solo performer or as one of the “Three Tenors” (with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras). Among Pavarotti’s many prizes and awards were five Grammy Awards and a Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. His last public appearance was in the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, where he sang his signature aria, “Nessun dorma,” from Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot.
Suzanne Pleshette (31 Jan 1937, New York NY—19 Jan 2008, Los Angeles CA), American actress who was especially remembered for her role as sardonic Emily Hartley, the schoolteacher wife and foil to her husband, Bob, on the TV sitcom The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78); she also famously portrayed a teacher pecked to death by feathered killers in the Alfred Hitchcock classic The Birds (1963).
Geoffrey Paul Polites (5 Nov 1947?, Melbourne, Aus-tralia—20 Apr 2008, Melbourne, Australia), Australian automotive executive who rose through the ranks at Ford Motor Co. during a nearly 40-year career to become (2005) CEO of the US-based automaker’s luxury Jaguar Land Rover division.
Sydney Irwin Pollack (1 Jul 1934, Lafayette IN—26 May 2008, Pacific Palisades CA), American director, producer, and actor who directed numerous television shows and more than a score of movies, including the epic romance Out of Africa (1985), a period piece set in colonial Kenya that earned him Academy Awards for best director and best picture. He directed actor Robert Redford in several films, including The Way We Were (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Electric Horseman (1979), and Out of Africa, but he was best remembered by many for his work on the comedy Tootsie (1982), which garnered him Oscar nominations for best director and best picture and won him a New York Film Critics Circle Award for best director; he directed more than 80 television programs, including a 1965 episode of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre for which he won an Emmy Award.
Victor Rabinowitz (2 Jul 1911, Brooklyn NY—16 Nov 2007, New York NY), American lawyer who defended a pantheon of left-wing causes and such clients as Department of State official Alger Hiss and Cuban leader Fidel Castro; during US Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy’s anticommunist crusade, Rabi-nowitz counted 225 suspected Communists, including novelist Dashiell Hammett, among his clients.
Dottie Rambo (Joyce Reba Luttrell; 2 Mar 1934, Madisonville KY—11 May 2008, Mount Vernon MO), American songwriter and singer who wrote more than 2,500 songs; her album It’s the Soul of Me (1968) won a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, and she was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame as a solo singer in 1992 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007.
Paul Raymond (Geoffrey Anthony Quinn; 15 Nov 1925, Liverpool, England—2 Mar 2008, London, England), British entertainment mogul who, by opening (1958) the UK’s first private striptease club, in London’s Soho district, made himself a mainstay of the swinging London scene of the 1960s; his shrewd purchases of depressed properties made him one of Britain’s wealthiest men.
Phil Rizzuto (Fiero Francis Rizzuto; “Scooter”; 25 Sep 1917, New York NY—13 Aug 2007, West Orange NJ), American baseball player and broadcaster who played an integral role in turning the Yankees into a dominating force, with eight World Series crowns (1941, 1943, 1947, and 1949-53); the consummate leadoff man, he won the American League’s
Most Valuable Player award in 1950 and made five All-Star game appearances (1942, 1950-53), and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
Holden Alvaro Roberto (12 Jan 1923, Sao Salvador [now M'banza Congo], Angola—2 Aug 2007, Luanda, Angola), Angolan independence leader who founded Angola’s first nationalist movement in 1956—his National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) reached an agreement with Portugal in 1975 that led to the country’s independence, but the FNLA, backed by several Western countries, was decisively defeated in 1976 by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, which was supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Dame Anita Roddick (Anita Lucia Perella; 23 Oct 1942, Littlehampton, West Sussex, England—10 Sep 2007, Chichester, West Sussex, England), British entrepreneur who, as the founder of the Body Shop cosmetics chain, championed social issues such as environmental awareness, animal rights, and self-sufficiency for less-developed countries; she was made DBE in 2003.
John Roderick (15 Sep 1914, Waterville ME—11 Mar 2008, Honolulu HI), American journalist who was an illustrious foreign correspondent (1937-42 and 1945-84) for the Associated Press and won admiration for his reportage of the several months he spent living in caves (1945-47) with Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong; he also witnessed the fall of the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, during the First Indochina War (1946-54).
Grigory Vasilyevich Romanov (7 Feb 1923, Zikhnovo, USSR [now in Russia]—3 Jun 2008, Moscow, Russia), Soviet official who, as the Central Committee secretary for the military economy and the respected Communist Party boss (1970-83) of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), was the major hard-line rival of Mikhail Gorbachev in the battle to lead the Soviet Union upon the death of Konstantin Chernenko in 1985.
Baron Elie Robert de Rothschild (29 May 1917, Paris, France—6 Aug 2007, near Scharnitz, Austria), French winemaker who took charge of the family wine estate Chateau Lafite Rothschild, which had been confiscated during the World War II Nazi occupation of France, and restored the chateau and its wine to their former grandeur, releasing acclaimed vintages in 1947,1949,1955,1959, and 1961; he also held a share in the family banking interests under the direction of his cousin Baron Guy de Rothschild.
Tim(othy John) Russert (Jr.) (7 May 1950, Buffalo NY—13 Jun 2008, Washington DC), American journalist who, as the insightful moderator (1991-2008) of the television program Meet the Press—the long-running (since 1947) Sunday morning talk show that was a mainstay in American political discourse—established himself as a tough but evenhanded interviewer and became one of the most influential political commentators of his era. He was the recipient of numerous honors, including an Edward R. Murrow Award (2001) and an Emmy Award (2005), and he was also the author of two best-selling books.
Tony Ryan (Thomas Anthony Ryan; 2 Feb 1936, Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland—3 Oct 2007, Cel-bridge, County Kildare, Ireland), Irish aviation entrepreneur who founded Ryanair (1985), which by 2007 was one of Europe’s most successful budget airlines.
Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Salim al-Sabah (1929?, British-protected Kuwait—13 May 2008, Kuwait city, Kuwait), Kuwaiti royal who, as a member of the ruling Sabah family, held a variety of government posts, including minister of the interior (1961-77), minister of defense (1965-77), and prime minister (1978-2003); as prime minister he headed a government-in-exile in Saudi Arabia during the 1990-91 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Herbert Seymour Saffir (29 Mar 1917, New York NY— 21 Nov 2007, Miami FL), American structural engineer who was an expert on hurricane damage to buildings and, with Robert H. Simpson, then director of the US National Hurricane Center, devised a five-category scale (the Saffir-Simpson scale) for ranking the destructive potential of hurricanes.
Yves Saint Laurent (Yves-Henri-Donat-Mathieu Saint Laurent; 1 Aug 1936, Oran, French Algeria—1 Jun 2008, Paris, France), French fashion designer who was regarded as one of the most influential designers in Paris and was especially noted for his popularization of women’s trousers for all occasions. When a Vogue magazine executive showed Christian Dior some sketches by Saint Laurent, then aged 17, he was hired immediately as Dior’s assistant, and the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was named the head of the House of Dior at Dior’s death in 1957. In 1962 Saint Laurent opened his own fashion house; he was made a grand officer of the Legion of Honor in 2007.
Gene Savoy (Douglas Eugene Savoy; 11 May 1927, Bellingham WA—11 Sep 2007, Reno NV), American explorer and amateur archaeologist, dubbed “the real Indiana Jones” by the popular press because of his flamboyant style and Stetson hat, who was credited with establishing the theory (now widely supported) that Vilcabamba, rather than Machu Picchu, was the last refuge for Incas seeking to escape from the Spanish conquistadors.
Roy (Richard) Scheider (10 Nov 1932, Orange NJ—10 Feb 2008, Little Rock AR), American actor who was identified most closely with his role as the smalltown police chief in the blockbuster Jaws films (1975 and 1978) but also earned Academy Award nominations for his supporting role in The French Connection (1971) and for his starring role in All That Jazz (1979).
(David) Paul Scofield (21 Jan 1922, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England—19 Mar 2008, West Sussex, England), British actor who delighted audiences with his sonorous voice and powerful performances in Shakespearean and other stage roles; he had his greatest success, however, as Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons (1960-62), for which he won the Tony Award for best actor in a drama (1962) and the Academy Award for best actor for the film version (1967); he was made CBE in 1956 and was named a Companion of Honour in 2001.
Irena Sendler (Irena Krzyzanowska; 15 Feb 1910, Ot-wock, Russian Empire [now in Poland]—12 May 2008, Warsaw, Poland), Polish social worker who rescued some 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto during World War II; as a member of Ze-gota (Council to Aid the Jews), the Polish underground organization established to help save Jews from the Nazi occupiers, she used such creative means as coffins and ambulances to remove children to safety, supplied them with fake birth certificates with Aryan names, and buried jars containing lists of their real names for future reference; in 2007 she was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace.
Michel Serrault (24 Jan 1928, Brunnoy, France—29 Jul 2007, Honfleur, France), French actor who appeared in more than 130 motion pictures over a 50-year career but won the hearts of fans worldwide with his portrayal of the flamboyant but tenderhearted drag queen Albin/Zaza in La Cage aux folles—beginning with some 1,500 performances (1973-78) at the Theatre du Palais Royal in Paris and then in the 1978 movie and its two sequels; he was appointed to the Legion of Honor in 1999.
P(ramod) K(aran) Sethi (28 Nov 1927, Benares, British India [now Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India]— 6 Jan 2008, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India), Indian orthopedic surgeon who coinvented the Jaipur foot, a prosthetic foot that could be made cheaply, looked like a bare foot, and had sufficient flexibility and durability to allow users to walk on uneven terrain or climb trees.
Boris Anfiyanovich Shakhlin (27 Jan 1932, Ishim, USSR [now in Russia]—30 May 2008, Kiev, Ukraine), Siberian Soviet gymnast who set a career record of 10 individual titles in world championships and won gold medals at three successive Olympic Games (1956-64); his tally of 13 Olympic medals (7 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze) placed him among the most-decorated Olympians; he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2002.
Chandra Shekhar (1 Jul 1927, Ibrahimpatti, Uttar Pradesh, British India—8 Jul 2007, New Delhi, India), Indian politician who served as prime minister of India from November 1990 to June 1991; he was a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) from 1962 to 1967 and the LokSabha (lower house) from 1977 to 1984 and from 1989.
DanShomron (1937, Kibbutz AshdotYa’acov, British Palestine [now in Israel]—26 Feb 2008, Ra’anana, Israel), Israeli military leader who planned and led the daring rescue at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda, of more than 100 airline passengers who had been hijacked by Palestinian and German militants in 1976.
Kai Manne Borje Siegbahn (20 Apr 1918, Lund, Swe-den—20 Jul 2007, Angelholm, Sweden), Swedish physicist who was awarded one-half of the 1981 Nobel Prize for Physics (Nicolaas Bloembergen and Arthur Leonard Schawlow of the US shared the other half) for revolutionary work in spectroscopy, particularly the spectroscopic analysis of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter; Siegbahn formulated the principles underlying the technique called ESCA (electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis).
Beverly Sills (Belle Miriam Silverman; 25 May 1929, Brooklyn NY—2 Jul 2007, New York NY), American operatic soprano and administrator who made her operatic debut in 1947 with the Philadelphia Civic Opera and in 1955 became a member of the New York City Opera; besides serving (1979-89) as director of that company, Sills was chairman of the board of New York’s Lincoln Center (1994-2002) and of the Metropolitan Opera (2002-05).
Paul Sills (18 Nov 1927, Chicago IL—2 Jun 2008, Baileys Harbor WI), American theater director and teacher who established improvisational comedy and cofounded (1959) The Second City theater company in Chicago; his improvisation model for Second City and its spin-offs in other cities became the basis for the format used on Saturday Night Live and other comedy television programs.
G.P. Sippy (Gopaldas Parmanand Sippy; 14Sep 1914, Hyderabad, British India—25 Dec 2007, Mumbai [Bombay], India), Indian filmmaker who was responsible for producing Sholay (“Flames,” 1975), Bollywood’s first “curry western” and the most commercially successful Bollywood film ever released (reportedly earning at least US$60 million); in 2000 he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Film Festival, Mumbai.
Ian Douglas Smith (8 Apr 1919, Selukwe, Rhodesia [now Shurugwi, Zimbabwe]—20 Nov 2007, Cape Town, South Africa), Rhodesian politician who was the first native-born prime minister of the British colony of Southern Rhodesia (1964-79) and was an ardent advocate of white rule; in 1965 he unilaterally declared Rhodesia’s independence, but in the late 1970s he was compelled to negotiate a transfer of power to the black majority.
Mike Smith (Michael George Smith; 6 Dec 1943, Edmonton, Middlesex, England—28 Feb 2008, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England), British singer and songwriter who was the lead singer and keyboardist for the Dave Clark Five (DC5), one of the most popular rock and roll bands of the British Invasion in the early 1960s; the band’s hit songs include “Bits and Pieces,” “Can’t You See That She’s Mine,” “Catch Us if You Can,” and “Over and Over;” he died less than two weeks before the DC5 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Roger Bonham Smith (12 Jul 1925, Columbus OH— 29 Nov 2007, near Detroit MI), American business executive who served as chairman and CEO of the General Motors Corp. (1981-90); he instituted vast changes in an attempt to return the company to profitability—implementing robotic technology in manufacturing, closing 11 assembly plants (including those in Flint MI, where some 30,000 jobs were lost—an act that inspired the Michael Moore documentary film Roger & Me [1989]), and launching the Saturn line of vehicles in 1990.
Tony Snow (Robert Anthony Snow; 1Jun 1955, Berea KY—12 Jul 2008, Washington DC), American journalist who, during his 16-month stint (May 2006-September 2007) as White House press secretary, was appreciated for his good-natured banter with journalists, infusing energy into what many considered a lackluster position.
Tom Snyder (12 May 1936, Milwaukee WI—29 Jul 2007, San Francisco CA), American TV newsman who served as host of The Tomorrow Show (1973-82) and The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder (1995-99) and helped to establish the popularity of the late-night talk-show format; he was best known for his ability to connect with audiences and for his unusual questions and no-nonsense style of interviewing an array of guests.
Soe Win (1948, Burma [now Myanmar]—12 Oct 2007, Yangon [Rangoon], Myanmar), Myanmar military leader who was prime minister of Myanmar from 2004 and was associated with two bloody suppressions of the democracy movement—a violent crackdown in 1988 on a pro-democracy uprising in which some 3,000 protesters were believed to have been killed and an attack on the convoy of National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (briefly not under house arrest) in 2003, in which dozens of people were killed in Dipeyin, earning him the sobriquet “the butcher of Dipeyin.”
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (11 Dec 1918, Kislovodsk, Russia—3 Aug 2008, Troitse-Lykovo, near Moscow, Russia), Russian novelist and historian who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970. He submitted his short novel Odin den iz zhizni Ivana Denisovicha (1962; One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich) to the leading Soviet literary periodical Novy Mir (“New World”); the novel, based on Solzhenitsyn’s own experiences, was noted for its simple, direct language and the obvious authority with which it treated the daily struggles and material hardships of life in a forced-labor camp during the Stalin era. After the publication of a collection of his short stories in 1963, however, he was denied further official publication of his work, and he resorted to samizdat (“self-published”) literature— his most significant works of this period were V kruge pervom (1968; The First Circle) and Avgust 1914 (1971; August 1914). In December 1973 the first parts of Arkhipelag Gulag (The Gulag Archipelago) were published in Paris after the KGB had seized a copy of the manuscript in the Soviet Union; the second and third volumes of The Gulag Archipelago were published in 1974-75. In 2007 he was awarded Russia’s prestigious State Prize for his contribution to humanitarian causes.
John Coburn Stewart (5 Sep 1939, San Diego CA—19 Jan 2008, San Diego CA), American singer and songwriter who rose to fame when he wrote the chart-topping hit single “Daydream Believer” (1967) for the pop-rock group the Monkees; as a solo performer and member of bands such as the Kingston Trio, he wrote more than 600 songs, including the hit song “Gold,” and released more than 50 albums.
William Huffman Stewart (19 May 1921, Minneapolis MN—23 Apr 2008, New Orleans LA), American government official and physician who was in the vanguard of US health policy while serving (1965-69) as the US surgeon general; he oversaw the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid, two US government programs created to guarantee health insurance for the elderly and the poor, respectively, and was the first surgeon general to issue health warnings on cigarette packs.
Suharto (8 Jun 1921, Kemusu Argamulja, Java, Dutch East Indies [now Indonesia]—27 Jan 2008, Jakarta, Indonesia), Indonesian army officer and political leader who pursued strongly anticommunist, pro-Western policies as president of Indonesia (1967-98); Suharto’s three decades of uninterrupted rule gave his country much-needed political stability and sustained economic growth, but his authoritarian regime finally fell victim to an economic crisis and its own internal corruption. He fought in the guerrilla forces seeking independence (1950) from the Dutch and rose steadily through the ranks of the Indonesian army, and he took effective control of the government on 12 Mar 1966; in 1997, however, Indonesia became caught up in a currency crisis sweeping across Southeast Asia, during which the value of the rupiah plummeted, the economy went into recession, inflation skyrocketed, and living standards collapsed for the poor. Antigovern-ment demonstrations turned into rioting in May 1998, and Suharto was forced to resign on 21 May.
Fu’ad al-Takarli (1927, Baghdad, Iraq—11 Feb 2008, Amman, Jordan), Iraqi jurist and writer who was regarded as one of the best Iraqi writers of his generation.
John Marks Templeton (29 Nov 1912, Winchester TN—8 Jul 2008, Nassau, Bahamas), American-born British investor, mutual fund manager, and philanthropist who established (1972) the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion (from 2003 the Tem-pleton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries About Spiritual Realities), to be awarded annually to a living person who demonstrated “extraordinary originality in advancing humankind’s understanding of God and/or spirituality”; Temple-ton, who took British citizenship in 1968, was knighted in 1987.
Teoctist (Toader Arapasu; 7 Feb 1915, Tocileni, Ro-mania—30 Jul 2007, Bucharest, Romania), Romanian prelate who was patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church from 1986; he was also the first head of an Orthodox church to host the Roman Catholic pontiff (during Pope John Paul II’s visit to Romania in 1999).
Hank Thompson (Henry William Thompson; 3 Sep 1925, Waco TX—6 Nov 2007, Keller TX), American singer and songwriter who created his own sound by blending western swing and honky-tonk; he sold more than 60 million records during a career that spanned six decades, and he had number one country songs with “The Wild Side of Life” and “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels”; he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989.
Gaston Egmond Thorn (3 Sep 1928, Luxembourg city, Luxembourg—26 Aug 2007, Luxembourg city, Luxembourg), Luxembourgian politician who pursued his longtime advocacy of European integration throughout a distinguished career that saw him named president of the UN General Assembly during the 1975-76 session and in 1981 president of the Commission of the European Economic Community.
Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. (23 Feb 1915, Quincy IL—1 Nov 2007, Columbus OH), brigadier general of the US Army Air Forces who piloted the B-29 bomber nicknamed the Enola Gay, which on 6 Aug 1945 dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan; his awards included the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Margaret Truman (Mary Margaret Truman Daniel; 17 Feb 1924, Independence MO—29 Jan 2008, Chicago IL), American writer who was the illustrious only daughter of US Pres. Harry S. Truman and carved a literary niche for herself as her parents’ biographer (HarryS. Truman [1973] and Bess W. Truman [1986]) and as the author of a number of best-selling mysteries.
Ike Turner (Izear Luster Turner, Jr.; 5 Nov 1931, Clarksdale MS—12 Dec 2007, San Marcos CA), American rhythm-and-blues artist who was best remembered as part of the singing duo of Ike and Tina Turner. The couple, who married in 1958, embraced the growing rock market in the late 1960s, most notably with John Fogerty’s “Proud Mary” (1971); Tina alleged beatings, cocaine addiction, and infidelity, but after imprisonment for cocaine possession, Ike made a comeback, however, winning a Grammy Award in 2007 for the album Risin’ with the Blues;Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
Gene Upshaw (15 Aug 1945, Robstown, Texas—20 Aug 2008, near Lake Tahoe, California), American football player who was a standout offensive lineman for the Oakland Raiders—he led the team to three Super Bowls (1968,1977,1981) and was selected to play in seven Pro Bowls (1968,1972-77); after his retirement he served as the executive director (1983-2008) of the National Football League Players Association; he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
Vo Van Kiet (Phan Van Hoa; 23 Nov 1922, Trung Hiep, French Indochina [now in Vietnam]—11 Jun 2008, Singapore), Vietnamese politician who, as Vietnam’s prime minister (1991-97), strongly advocated doi moi (renovation), the economic plan that encouraged entrepreneurial initiative, foreign investment, and free-market reform; in 1995 he restored diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the US.
Porter Wayne Wagoner (12 Aug 1927, near West Plains MO—28 Oct 2007, Nashville TN), American singer who was a star of the Grand Ole Opry and helped to launch the career of Dolly Parton, with whom he recorded 14 top 10songs; in 1960 he became the host of The Porter Wagoner Show, which ran for 21years, and he won three Grammy Awards for gospel music he recorded with the Blackwood Brothers Quartet.
Bill Walsh (William Ernest Walsh; 30 Nov 1931, Los Angeles CA—30 Jul 2007, Woodside CA), American football coach who was the architect of the “West Coast offense,” which featured short passes and quick slanting pass routes by receivers, and who helped build the San Francisco 49ers into a powerhouse NFL team—under Walsh the 49ers won Super Bowls XVI (1981), XIX (1985)and XXIII (1989) and registered a record of 102-63-1; he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
(Alice) Eileen Wearne (30 Jan 1912, Sydney, NSW, Australia—6 Jul 2007, Sydney, NSW, Australia), Australian athlete who was only the second woman to represent Australia in track and field in the Olympic Games, at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.
Jerry Wexler (10 Jan 1917, New York NY—15 Aug 2008, Sarasota FL), American record producer and music journalist who coined the phrase rhythm and blues in 1949; as an executive for Atlantic Records he guided the careers of such classic performers as Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and the British group Led Zeppelin; he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
John Archibald Wheeler (9 Jul 1911, Jacksonville FL—13 Apr 2008, Hightstown NJ), American physicist who was the first American involved in the theoretical development of the atomic bomb; he helped develop (1949-51) the hydrogen bomb at Los Alamos NM, and he was director (1951-53) of Project Matterhorn, which was instituted to design thermonuclear weapons; he was awarded the Niels Bohr International Gold Medal in 1982.
Frank Yewell Whiteley, Jr. (1915?, Centreville MD—2 May 2008, Camden SC), American horse trainer who, in a 49-year (1936-84) career, conditioned such Thoroughbred champions as Damascas (winner of the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, the Travers, and the Woodward and crowned 1967 Horse of the Year) and Ruffian (undefeated in 10 starts and winner of the filly Triple Crown); in 1978 Whiteley was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Phyllis Ayame Whitney (9 Sep 1903, Yokohama, Japan—8 Feb 2008, Faber VA), American author who wrote two novels—The Mystery of the Haunted Pool (1960) and The Mystery of the Hidden Hand (1963)—that won Edgar Allan Poe Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, of which she was president in 1975; in 1988 she received that organization’s Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement.
Bill Willis (William Karnet Willis; 5 Oct 1921, Columbus OH—27 Nov 2007, Columbus OH), American football player who became one of the first African American players in professional football’s modern era when he joined the Cleveland Browns of the newly formed All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946; he earned all-league honors three times in the AAFC and four times in the NFL, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977 and was named to the NFL’s 1940s All-Decade Team.
Stan Winston (Stanley Winston; 7 Apr 1946, Arlington VA—15 Jun 2008, Malibu CA), American special-effects artist who earned praise for his adept-ness at combining makeup, animatronic creatures, and computer-generated images to produce incredibly realistic on-screen special effects; he won Academy Awards for Aliens (1986), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and Jurassic Park (1993); he also captured Emmy Awards for Gargoyles (1972) and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974).
Kathleen Woodiwiss (Kathleen Erin Hogg; 3 Jun 1939, Alexandria LA—6 Jul 2007, Princeton MN), American romance novelist who was the author of 14 popular romance novels; her paperbacks sold more than 35 million copies in 13 countries, and in 1988 Woodiwiss received the Romance Writers of America’s lifetime achievement award.
John Youie Woodruff (5 Jul 1915, Connellsville PA— 30 Oct 2007, Fountain Hills AZ), American track and field athlete who won gold in the 800-m race at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games; his victory and those of Jesse Owens and other African American teammates embarrassed German leader Adolf Hitler; Woodruff won the Amateur Athletic Union 800-m championship in 1937 and the 880-yd NCAA title for three years (1937-39), and he was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1978.
Jane Wyman (Sarah Jane Mayfield; Sarah Jane Fulks; 5 Jan 1917, St. Joseph M0—10 Sep 2007, Rancho Mirage CA), American actress who had a distinguished career in film and television but was perhaps equally well known as the first wife (1940-48) of US Pres. Ronald Reagan; she won the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of a deaf rape victim in Johnny Belinda (1948); she was also nominated for her roles in The Yearling (1946), The Blue Veil (1951), and Magnificent Obsession (1954).
Mohammad Zahir Shah (15 Oct 1914, Kabul, Afghanistan—23 Jul 2007, Kabul, Afghanistan), Afghan monarch who, as Afghanistan’s last reigning king (1933-73), provided an era of stable government while maintaining a neutral position for his country in international politics; he established a constitutional monarchy, prohibited royal relatives from holding public office, and undertook a number of economic-development projects, including irrigation and highway construction, but in a bloodless coup on 17 Jul 1973, he was deposed, and he went into exile in Italy soon after; following the US overthrow of the Taliban, he returned to Afghanistan in 2002, and he was later given the honorary title Father of the Nation.
Hy Zaret (Hyman Harry Zaritsky; 21 Aug 1907, New York NY—2 Jul 2007, Westport CT), American lyricist who collaborated with composer Alex North to create the song “Unchained Melody” (1955), which became one of the most performed songs of all time.
Zhang Hanzhi (1935, Shanghai, China—26 Jan 2008, Beijing, China), Chinese diplomat and tutor who provided private English lessons to Chairman Mao Zedong in 1963; she interpreted for Prime Minister Zhou Enlai during US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s confidential trip to China in 1971, and she also served as an interpreter for US Pres. Richard Nixon during his visit to China in 1972.
