and-now-shes-dead
Bea Arthur, Beloved Gay Icon, 1922-2009
Owen Thomas · 04/25/09 07:12PMPinup Queen Bettie Page, 85, Dies
Ryan Tate · 12/12/08 01:57AMComatose Heiress Sunny von Bülow Dies
Gabriel Snyder · 12/06/08 01:55PMAfter spending 28 years in a coma, heiress Sunny von Bülow, 76, has died, according to the NYT. She was first discovered unconscious on the floor of her Newport, R.I., mansion in 1980, and her husband Claus von Bulow was convicted, but later acquitted, of attempting to murder her with an insulin injection. With characters like "Prince Alexander von Auersperg" (Sunny's son who pushed for Claus' prosecution) and "Maria Schrallhammer" (Sunny's maid), the Dynasty-like tale generated a media frenzy and served as the basis for the Jeremy Irons-Glenn Close film Reversal of Fortune.
Odetta, Folk Singer Of The Gods
Hamilton Nolan · 12/03/08 09:16AMOdetta, the awesome blues and folk singer whose work was a soundtrack to the American civil rights movement and an inspiration to Bob Dylan and many others, has died at the age of 77. She began singing in the 1940s, and "In 1961, Martin Luther King, Jr. anointed her 'The Queen of American folk music.'" Okay? She was also Rosa Parks' favorite singer. Not much more needs to be said, except that her music was off the chain. Three clips come tumbling down like Jericho, below:
Obama Weeps For His Grandmother
Ryan Tate · 11/03/08 11:03PMIt was around 8 am this morning, John Heilemann reports, that Barack Obama first learned of the passing of his grandmother, a longtime guardian central in his upbringing. The Democratic presidential nominee maintained his composure throughout the day, including during an enthusiastic speech in Jacksonville, Florida. But he could not contain all outward signs of grief tonight at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. After a break in a rain storm, Obama delivered a speech that, in part, eulogized his grandmother. It would be hard, in the attached video, to see that this remembrance moved the candidate to tears, but for some dabs of the cheek, so steady and familiar was the candidate's rhythm as he spoke.
Obama's Grandmother Dies
Pareene · 11/03/08 05:39PMBarack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died today of cancer. Dunham, 85, largely raised Obama, from the age of 10 on, while his mother worked in Indonesia. She's a huge figure in his book, in his speeches, and in his campaign—the campaign he suspended to visit her just last week. Obama issued a statement with his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng:
Snark Break
Richard Lawson · 08/27/08 02:33PMEstelle Getty, Everyone's Favorite Ma
Richard Lawson · 07/22/08 12:57PMEstelle Getty, actress and adorable little old shrunken lady, passed away today. She was 84. Perhaps best known for her role as cranky and wise-cracking "Ma" Sophia Petrillo to Bea Arthur's Dorothy on the sitcom The Golden Girls, Ms. Getty got her start in the theatre. She once played Harvey Fierstein's mother in the Broadway show Torch Song Trilogy! Those two roles alone ought to cement her in the gay pantheon of revered tough and hilarious broads for the rest of time. Ms. Getty suffered from something called Lewy body dementia, which was misdiagnosed earlier as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. In 2006 she issued a statement through her caregiver about her condition and outlook, telling her fans "that if she has made you laugh, encouraged you to think, and challenged your beliefs, then she has done her job."
DC Madam Deborah Palfrey: 1956-2008
Pareene · 05/01/08 12:58PMDeborah Jeane Palfrey, the "DC Madam" who was convicted in April of charges related to her famous prostitution ring, died today in an apparent suicide at her mother's house in Florida. She was 52. Palfrey was busted in October of 2006, and it wasn't long before she captured national attention by threatening to release her phone records—records that could've destroyed the careers of hundreds of Washington politicians and officials. Or so went speculation at the time.
Remembering Bob Marley's Mom
Hamilton Nolan · 04/29/08 04:12PMThousands of people in Jamaica turned out last weekend to celebrate the life of Bob Marley's mother, who apparently died earlier this month, in a development I totally missed. Her name was Cedella Booker, and she died at the age of 81, outliving her son by 27 years. Bob Marley, the reggae superstar who was (argument starter) the most notable musician of the 20th century, now leaves behind only his seemingly endless procession of kids to carry on his name—his British dad died in 1955. We should also note that Marley once had a brief affair with Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Noted! Anyhow, let's take a moment to remember Cedella Booker, who recorded two albums herself, and wrote two books about her son [The Root]. Her life produced a net gain in the world's happiness. How shall we memorialize her? With a video of her son singing "Natural Mystic," of course:
Choire · 12/05/07 11:15AM
Critic, biographer and novelist Elizabeth Hardwick, co-founder of the New York Review of Books, has died. In a response to a letter from screenwriter and New Yorker columnist Penelope Gilliatt that complained about Hardwick's trashing of Lillian Hellman in 1968, Hardwick wrote: "Perhaps Miss Gilliatt doesn't yet understand all there is to know about New York and the literary and intellectual world here. When we remember the number of unjustified slams and unwarranted raves, the way convictions sometimes cross uncomfortably, it is astonishing that relations remain as humorous, slap-dash, unparanoiac, and, above all, as pleasantly disorganized as they really are." [NYO]
Medical Examiner Rules On Linda Stein Killing
Joshua Stein · 11/01/07 12:30PMYesterday, real estate agent to the stars, former Ramones manager and ex-wife of Belle and Sebastian muse Seymour Stein was found lying in a pool of blood in her multimillion dollar apartment. The medical examiner has since ruled that she died from "blows to the head and neck." She lived, as the Times writes in a "building, at the corner of 78th Street, [that[ has the security of doormen, elevator operators, and surveillance cameras mounted on the sidewalk canopy and in the lobby." However: "a reporter found an unlocked service door on the side street."
'Meerkat Manor' Fans Devastated By Loss of Flowers
Maggie · 10/10/07 02:23PM"meerkat manor" "funerals"
Choire · 09/17/07 02:40PM
Choire · 09/11/07 11:20AM
Emily Gould · 09/07/07 03:45PM
Choire · 08/23/07 10:00AM
Remembering Leona Helmsley
abalk · 08/20/07 02:50PM
Leona Helmsley was more than just a former secretary who helped her third husband create a massive real estate empire while becoming a recognizable face to New Yorkers through a series of commercials in which she starred. She was a pioneer whose conviction on tax fraud (Rudy Giuliani was her prosecutor!) established that if a female executive is as abrasive, rude towards the help, and generally corrupt as her male counterparts, she deserves to be treated easily twice as harshly as a man would. Because, you know, that's not what we expect from ladies. In many ways, we can view the late Mrs. Helmsley as a precursor to fellow orange-jumpsuit wearer Martha Stewart. Thank you for blazing that trail, Leona! In memoriam, here's a clip of actress Suzanne Pleshette portraying the hotelier in the 1990 television movie "Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean."