Deaths of the Rich and Famous: February, 2019

Arts and Letters

Betty Ballantine (age 99) - Along with her husband, Ian, Elizabeth "Betty" Ballantine founded the Bantam and Ballantine publishing companies. The two are credited with establishing the paperback publishing industry in the 1940s and 1950s. The two sold their company in the '60s, and eventually both worked at what is now Random House Penguin. Ballantine passed away February 12, 2019.

Nick Carfado (age 62) - Carfado was a long-time sports columnist for The Boston Globe and the Patriot Ledger, covering the MLB Boston Red Sox and the NFL New England Patriots. He served briefly as a color commentator for the New England Sports Network. In 2014, he shared the award for Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year. He collapsed and died February 21, 2019, while covering Red Sox spring training.

Carol Emshwiller (age 97) - Emshwiller twice won the Nebula award for short fiction and also won the Phillip K. Dick award for her 2002 novel The Mount. She received the World Fantasy Award got Lifetime Achievement in 2005. She was married to screenwriter and director Ed Emshwiller, who predeceased her. Emshwiller died February 2, 2019.

W. E. B. Griffin (age 89) - William E. Butterworth published dozens of military and crime novels under eleven different  pseudonyms, including thirty-eight novels in six different series under the Griffin name. He also co-wrote novels in the "M*A*S*H" series with Richard Hooker. Griffin passed away February 12, 2019.

Christine Kay (age 54) - Kay began her career in 1985 as a reporter at the Pittsburgh Press before moving on to Newsday. She joined the New York Times in 1995 and moved up through the ranks of the metropolitan desk. In 2015, Kay moved to the positino of editor in the investigation section. She was instrumental in writing and editing the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Portraits of Grief. Kay succumbed to breast cancer on February 5, 2019.

Rosamunde Pilcher (age 94) - Pilcher's 50-year career yielded dozens of novels with more than 60 million copies in print around the world. The prolific British writer penned romance and general fiction novels under her own name, with ten early novels published as Jane Fraser. Her best-known novels include The Shell Seekers and Coming Home. Pilcher was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) following her retirement from writing in 2000. She died on February 6, 2019, after a stroke.

Jeraldine Saunders (age 95) - Saunders is credited as the creator of the television series "The Love Boat," which was loosely based on her memoir of life as a cruise director, Love Boats. After a brief marriage to astrologer Sidney Omarr, Saunders penned the syndicated horoscope column Omarr's Astrological Forecast until her death. Saunders died February 23, 2019.

Tomi Ungerer (age 87) - Born Jean-Tomas Ungerer in Strasbourg, France, "Tomi" became an illustrator of children's books and an author in French, German, and English. Among English-speaking children, his best-known works are the illustrations of Moon Man and Jeff Brown's Flat Stanley. He received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his work in 1998. Ungerer died February 9, 2019.

Richard S. Wheeler (age 83) - A newspaper editor by training, Wheeler also wrote half a dozen critically-acclaimed western novels and a multi-volume series featuring Barnaby Skye. He worked at newspapers in Montana, Arizona, California, and Nevada before turning to the publishing industry. Wheeler collected five Spur Awards for western writing. He passed away February 24, 2019.

Business

Karl Lagerfeld (age 85) - German by birth, Lagerfeld is perhaps best known for his association with the French fashion house Chanel, where he was the creative director for more than 35 years. Rarely seen without dark glasses, Coca-Cola, and fingerless gloves; Lagerfeld was a fixture on runways around the world beginning in the 1960s. He also designed for Fendi and had his own label, Lagerfeld. The designer died February 19, 2019.

Ron Miller (age 85) - After a brief career as a tight end for the Los Angeles Rams, Miller went to work for the Disney Corporation in 1956, after marrying the boss' daughter (Diane Disney) in 1954.He rose within the company to become CEO of the Walt Disney Company in 1978 and president of the board of directors of the Disney family museum. Miller died February 9, 2019.

Edward Nixon (age 88) - The youngest brother of former U. S. President Richard M. Nixon, Edward was a geologist by trade and training. He operated an international consultancy from the Seattle, Washington area, mainly concerned with maintaining the U. S. supplies of critical minerals and fossil fuels. Nixon died February 27, 2019.

Movies, Theater, and Television

Julie Adams (age 92) - in a career that spanned more than sixty years, Adams appeared in dozens of movies and made guest appearances on many television shows. She may be bast known as the heroine of Creature from the Black Lagoon and recurring roles in the TV shows "Code Red" and "Murder She Wrote." Adams passed away February 3, 2019.

Carmen Argenziano (age 75) - Argenziano appeared in more than 100 television shows and over 50 movies in a career that spanned five decades. He had recurring roles in "Stargate SG-1" and "Melrose Place," among other television dramas; and small parts in movies as widely varied as Sudden Impact and Gone in 60 Seconds. Argenziano died February 10, 2019.

Stanley Donen (age 94) - Donen started his career as a choreographer before co-directeing On the Town and Singin' In the Rain with Gene Kelly. He went on to direct dozens of otehr films including Charade! and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Donen received a Lifetime Achievement Award rom the Academy in 1998. He died of heart failure February 21, 2019.

Albert Finney (age 82) - After his British debut as a Shakespearean actor, Finney went on to a fifty-year career in film. He had two wins in fourteen BAFTA awards and was also nominated for an Oscar five times. He was also nominated nine times for a Golden Globe, winning three, and won an Emmy for "The Gathering Storm." Among his better-known films are Tom Jones, Skyfall, Under the Volcano, and Erin Brockovich. Finney died after brief illness on February 7, 2019.

Clark James Gable (age 30) - The grandson of the movie star of the same name, the younger Gable was briefly the host of the television reality show "Cheaters." Gable also had a line of clothing and was the owner of an online electronics store. Gable was found unresponsive and pronounced dead on February 22, 2019.

Katherine Helmond (age 89) - The striking redheaded actor was nominated for a Tony and seven times for an Emmy. Helomond also won Golden Globes for her work in the television shows "Soap" and "Who's the Boss," in which she played the grandmother of Alyssa Milano's character. She succumbed to complications of Alzheimer's on February 23, 2019.

Neal James (age 55) - James, with his buddy Ernie "The Turtleman" Brown, Jr., was a fixture on four seasons of Animal Planet's reality TV show "The Call of the Wildman." The Banjo Man, as James was known, accompanied Brown on expeditions to capture wild animals in central Kentucky. James, who had a history of heart disease, died of natural causes on February 1, 2019.

Kristoff St. John (age 52) - The child of actors, St. John entered the business early. He had several television appearances before his 1979 role as the young Alex Hailey in "Roots." He appeared in the soap opera "Generations" during its two-year run before joining the cast of "The Young and the Restless" as series regular Neil Winters. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy eight times, winning three. St. John was found dead in his New York apartment February 3, 2019.

Lisa Sheridan (age 44) - Sheridan had major roles in several television series, including "Invasion" and "FreakyLinks," none of which ran for more than one season. She made numerous appearances on both television dramas and comedies and also appeared in several indie films. Sheridan died at her home on February 25, 2019.

Brody Stevens (age 48) - Primarily a stand-up comic, Brody also appeaed in numersou television how episodes and movies. He is perhaps best known for the Comedy Central reality show, "Brody Stevens: Enjoy It!" He also had a small part as Officer Foltz in The Hangover. Stevens committed suicide on February 22, 2019.

Jan Michael Vincent (age 74) - An actor in film (White Line Fever and Buster and Billie) and on television in series such as "Bonanza" and "Gunsmoke," Vincent is probably best known as Stringfellow Hawke, the pilot of a high-tech helicopter in the 1980s television show "Airwolf." His career entered a tailspin in the late 1980s amid bar fights and drug use. He died February 10, 2019.

Morgan Woodward (age 93) - A fixture for decades in westerns, Woodward had hundreds of acting credits, including two different roles in the original "Star Trek." He is said to hold the unofficial record for most guest appearances on "Gunsmoke" and had a recurring role on "Dallas." On the big screen, Woodward's best-known role came in Cool Hand Luke.  Woodward died of cancer on February 22, 2019.

Miscellaneous

Wallace Smith Broekker (age 87) - Broekker was a professor at Columbia and Arizona State Universities and a scientist for Lamont-Doherty. A geophysicist by training, Broekker published 400-plus journal articles and ten books on subjects as varied as oceanography, geochronology, and isotope geology. He is often credited with popularizing the term "global warming." Broekker died February 18, 2019.

Dakshayani (age 88?) - Known to the people of India as "The Elephant Granny," Dakshayani was believed to be 88 years old, making her the world's oldest elephant in captivity. For many years, she had participated in religious rites and processions at Chengalloor Mahadeva Temple in India's southern state of Kerala. She died February 5, 2019.

Duke (age 13) - By birth a Great Pyrenees, Duke Nelson was elected mayor of the town of Cormorant Village, Minnesota, four times beginning in 2014 when he ran as a write-in candidate. In his most recent election, 2016, Duke received all but one vote. That one went to another dog, Lassie, Duke crossed the rainbow bridge February 21, 2019.

Manfred Eigen (age 91) - The German biophysical chemist was awarrded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Along with his two co-recipients, Eigen received the award for studies on the kinetics of extremely fast-running chemical reactions with relaxation methods. Eigen died on February 6, 2019.

Shelley Lubben (age 50) - A one-time prostitute and pornographic actress under the pseudonym Roxy, Lubben left the adult-entertainment industry after some two years. After being born again, Lubben launched the Pink Cross Foundation to combat pornography and assist adult entertainers trying to leave the industry. Lubben passed away February 9, 2019.

Carrie Ann Lucas (age 47) - Lucas, an ordained minister and attorney, was an activist for the disabled. A high school and college athlete, Lucas was diagnosed with a muscular dystrophy, The mother of four completed theology and law degrees before becoming an nationally-known advocate for the disabled. Lucas died February 22, 2019.

Sean Milliken (age 29) - Milliken was featured in season 4 of the TLC reality show, "My 600-pound Life." Like others featured on the show, Milliken relocated to Houston for baryatric surgery in 2016, in hopes of losing more than 400 pounds. Milliken succumbed to an infection on February 17, 2019.

Walter Munk (age 104) - Born in Austria, Munk emigrated to the U. S. with his family in the 1930s. After a brief career in finance, he turned to science, earning degrees in physics and geophysics, eventually becoming a distinguished professor of oceanography at Scripps. During WW2, he was part of a team assisting in planning for the Normandy Invasion. Munk passed away February 8, 2019.

Lee Radziwill (age 85) - Born Caroline Lee Bouvier, Radziwill was the younger sister of the late Jacqueline (Bouvier) Kennedy Onassis. After an abortive attempt to forge a career as an actress, she was briefly an interior decorator before "retiring" to the life of a socialite. Radziwill died February 15, 2019.

Music

Dominick Argento (age 91) - Argento was famed as a composer of choral and lyric opera music, both sacred and secular. Among his best-known works is his song cycle From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, which won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for music. Among his other works are Miss Manners on Music (Miss Manners newspaper columns set to music) and an adaptation of the Chekov play On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco. Argento died February 20, 2019.

Kofi Burridge (age 57) - Burridge is best-known as the keyboard and flute-player first in the Derrick Trucks Band and then in the Tedeschi-Trucks Band. After brief association with some regional bands, Burridge joined bluesman Derrick Trucks in 1999. He occasionally appeared in the Allman Brothers Band with his brother Oteil Burridge. Kofi Burridge succumbed to cardiac problems on February 15, 2019.

Connie Jones (age 84) - Jones started playing trumpet at age 10, and continued until his death at age 84. A jazzman's jazzman, Jones was friend and collaborator to jazz greats such as Al Hirt, Pete Fountain, and Jack Teagarden. He appeared in bands on television and his Crescent City Jazz Band also played the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival many times. Jones passed away February 13, 2019.

Andre Previn (age 89) - Born in Germany, Previn grew up in the Los Angeles area. His first work in the world of music was as an arranger for Hollywood, a career that eventually led to four Academy Awards and ten Grammys. Previn first won an Oscar in 1958 for Gigi, and followed that with awards in 1959, 1963, and 1964 (My Fair Lady). He won Grammys as a performer and conductor, and his extensive list of recordings includes pop, classical, and jazz. Previn died February 28, 2019.

Peter Tork (age 77) - Tork, on keyboards and bass guitar, was perhaps the most accomplished musician among the four original members of the Monkees. Although he generally played a bit of a dork, Tork (born Peter Thorkelson) led a varied career after the demise of the boy band for which he is known. He was a session musician, actor, and producer; as well as operating a string of food trucks in Seattle; Tork's Tacos. Tork died February 21, 2019.

Guy Webster (age 79) - Webster probably couldn't sing a lick, but he still contributed to some of the most important record albums of the 1960s and '70s as a photographer. For several years the head photographer at Dunhill records, Webster was responsible for album covers including Simon and Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence"; The Mamas and the Papas debut album, "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears"; and the Rolling Stones' "Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)." Webster succumbed to liver cancer and diabetes February 9, 2019.

Mac Wiseman (age 93) - Along with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Malcolm "Mac" Wiseman formed the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1948; and later played in Bill Monroe's band. Wiseman, an upright bass player, released a single recording of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," which reached #10 on the Billboard charts in 1955. Wiseman also co-founded the Country Music Association. He died February 24, 2019.

Israel "Izzy" Young (age 90) - Izzy Young was instrumental in he early years of American folk music, operating the Folklore Center in New York's Greenwich Village. Artists including Bob Dylan; Joni Mitchell; Emmylou Harris; and Peter, Paul, and Mary performed at Young's venue in the 60s. In 1973, he emigrated to Sweden, where he opened the Folklore Centrum in Stockholm as a venue for both Swedish artists and visiting performers from around the world. Young died in Stockholm on February 4, 2019.

Politics / Government

John Dingell, Jr. (age 92) - Dingell served a district in southeastern Michigan in Congress for 59-plus years, beginning when he assumed the seat of his late father in a special election. He holds the record for the longest service in the U. S. House of Representatives. During his tenure, he championed environmental causes and introduced a healthcare bill every year until the passing of "Obamacare" in 2010. On his retirement, Dingell's wife, Debbie, took over the seat. Dingell died February 7, 2019, of prostate cancer.

Walter B. Jones, Jr. (age 75) - Jones, the son of North Carolina congressman Walter B. Jones, followed in his father's footsteps to the capitol with one exception: Dad was a Democrat, Junior changed parties in 1994 to become a Republican. He served twelve terms in office, gaining a reputation as a politician who paid attention to his constituents instead of party leadership. He may be best known as the man who coined the term "freedom fries" in 2003. Jones died February 10, 2019.

Lyndon LaRouche (age 96) - The founder of the U. S. Labor Party, LaRouche was a well-known political activist and sometimes presidential candidate. LaRouche ran for U. S. President in every election from 1976-2004, generally polling less than 0.1% of the total votes. He continued a career as a political gadfly until his death on February 12, 2019.

Barbra Casbar Siperstein (age 76) - A lifelong resident of New Jersey, "Babs" transitioned in the 1980s and was outed as transgender in 2000. She then became an activist for LGBT causes, serving as president of the New Jersey Stonewall Democrats and as a member of the DNC Executive Committee. Siperstein passed away February 3, 2019.

Edward Zigler (age 88)- Zigler, a leader in the field of developmental psychology, was the Sterling Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University. In 1970, then-President Nixon appointed Zigler to head the Office of Child Development. It his work in this position that led people to call him the "Father of Head Start." Zigler passed away February 7, 2019.

Sports

André Boudrias (age 75) - Boudrias spent twelve seasons as a center in the National Hockey League, mainly with the Vancouver Canucks. In 1975, he joined many fading NHL players in jumping to the WHA, where he spent two seasons with the Quebec Nordiques. In 662 NHL games, he accumulated 491 points and 216 penalty minutes. Boudrias passed away February 5, 2019.

Alice Dye (age 91) - Dye was well-known as an amateur golfer and also designed courses. She was U. S. amateur champion once and twice each U. S. and Canadian Senior Women's Champion in the 1970s and 80s. She is perhaps best-known for her design of the "Island Green" on the 17th hole at Sawgrass in Florida and Crooked Stick in her native Indianapolis. Dye passed away February 1, 2019.

Bob Friend (age 88) - Friend pitched for sixteen seasons in the major leagues, fifteen with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was an NL All-Star three times, and led the league in wins (1958) and E.R.A. (1955). He finished with a 197-230 record while pitching for perennial losers most of his career. Friend passed away February 3, 2019.

Gene Littler (age 88) - Littler was a championship golfer and inductee to the World Golf Hall of Fame. His career began in the '50s, when he won a PGA event while still an amateur. Over a professional career that lasted into the 1990s, Littler won 29 PGA events including the 1961 U. S. Open, and eight Senior PGA tournaments. He passed away February 16, 2019.

Don Newcombe (age 92) - Newcombe, a powerful right-handed pitcher, broke into the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. Along with teammates Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson, Newcombe broke baseball's "color barrier." He was the first Black player to pitch in the World Series and the first player to win the Cy Young Award. He finished his career with a record of 149-90 after four All-Star seasons. Newcombe died February 19, 2019.

Frank Robinson (age 83) - Robinson spent over sixty years in major league baseball, breaking in as an outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds in 1956. He also played for the Orioles, Dodgers, Angels, and Indians; including a partial season as player-manager of the Indians. He was an All-Star fourteen times, is the only player to have been MVP of both leagues, and finished fourth all-time in career home runs. Robinson is perhaps best remembered as the first African-American manager in the major leagues. After retiring, he managed the Indians, the Orioles, the Giants, and the Expos/Nationals. Robinson succumbed to bone cancer on February 7, 2019.

Wade Wilson (age 60) - Over nineteen seasons, Wilson quarterbacked for the Vikings, Falcons, Saints, Cowboys, and Raiders. He appeared in 125 games, starting 69, with a record of 36-33-0. On retirement, Wilson was the Cowboys quarterback coach in 2002-2004 and 2007-2017, and coached the Chicago Bears quarterbacks 2004-2006, including the Superbowl. Wilson died February 1, 2019.

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Deaths in January, 2019  --- Deaths in March, 2019