Deaths of the Rich and Famous - July, 2019

Arts and Letters

Norman Geisler (age 86) - Geisler was an evangelical Christian theologian and author of more than 90 volumes of religious thought; most pubilshed through  religious bookstores. He also founded or co-founded two non-denominational (evangelical) seminaries, Veritas and the Southern Evangelical Seminary; and testified as a creationist at the so-called "Scopes Monkey Trial II." Geisler died July 1, 2019.

Paul Krassner (age 87) - Krassner was an original member of Ken Kesey's "Merry Pranksters" and a founder of the Yippie movement. For years, Krassner published and/or contributed to the magazine The Realist, a counter-culture periodicial some say was intended to be a grownup version of Mad Magazine. He was also known as an artist, author, comedian, and social activist. Krassner passed away July 21, 2019.

Lois Wille (age 87) - Chicago native Lois Wille was a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, first in 1963 for reporting at the Chicago Daily News and later in 1989 for her Chicago Tribune editorials. Her work often concentrated on the plight of disadvantaged classes, whether minorities or women. Wille died July 23, 2019, after she suffered a stroke.

Business

Chris Cline (age 60) - Following in the family business, Cline started as an underground coal miner in his twenties. By age 50, he had founded one of the largest coal companies in the US, Foresight Energy, and was worth in excess of one billion dollars. Foresight has holdings mainly in the Illinois Basin of Illinois and Indiana. Cline was killed in a helicopter crash in the Bahamas on July 4, 2019.

Lee Iacocca (age 94) - Iacocca is the only person ever to have been the chief executive of two of the "big three" american car makers. He headed up Ford in the 1970s before becoming CEO of Chrysler in 1979. Iacocca shepherded the development of the Mustang and the Pinto while at Ford; at Chrysler he engineered a government bailout of the company. Iacocca died July 3, 2019, of Parkinson's disease.

Michael Kittredge (age 67) - Kittredge and two friends founded the Yankee Candle Company at age 16, eventually parlaying the company into 400-plus stores and nearly a billion dollars in annual sales. A two-time cancer survivor, Kittredge was an active philanthropist in the healthcare field, especially the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He died July 24, 2019.

Miscellaneous

Andrew Golden (age 35) - At age 11, Golden joined with 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson to massacre four students and a teacher at a middle school near Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 1984. Both were caught and imprisoned until their 21st birthdays. Golden, who had changed his name to Drew Grant, was killed in a traffic accident on July 27, 2019.

Edith Irby Jones (age 91) - In 1948, Jones was the first African-American woman to be accepted into the University of Arkansas Medical School, the first Black medical intern in Arkansas. Shw was later the first Black intern at the Baylor University medical school. Among her many other accomplishments were being the first female president of the National Medical Association and the founding of two international medical clinics that bear her name, in Haiti and Mexico. Jones died July 15, 2019.

Ben Kinchlow (age 82) - Kinchlow, son of a Methodist minister, flirted briefly with Black Islam in the 1970s before returning to Christianity. He dove in full-force, becoming a minister/evangelist and a fixture on Christian radio, co-hosting The 700 Club. Kinchlow died July 18, 2019.

Eva (Mozes) Kor (age 85) - A Romanian Jew, Mozes and her twin sister survived the Auschwitz death camp as subjects in medical experiments carried out by Josef Mengele. Mozes emigrated to the US and, after marriage, settled in Indiana, where she founded a Holocaust remembrance museum and society. She died in Poland on July 4, 2019, while on an annual pilgrimage to the site of Auschwitz.

Christopher Kraft, Jr. (age 95) - In 1958, Kraft was asked to head a government program to put a man in space. He became the first flight director of NASA, a position he held until 1972 when he assumed the directorship of the Manned Space Center (now Johnson Space Center) in Houston. He remained in that position until 1982. Kraft passed away July 22, 2019.

César Pelli (age 92) - Argentine-born architect César Pelli is renowned worldwide for his building designs. Included among his better-known works are the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, at one time the world's tallest buildings. He also designed the Cira Center, Salesforce Tower (San Francisco) and the north tower of Reagan National Airport. Pelli passed away on July 19, 2019.

John R. Schreiffer (age 88) - Schreiffer was one of three physicists to share the 1972 Nobel Prize for work at the Unversity of Illinois on a quantum theory of superconduction. He was a professor of physics at the Universities of Pennsylvania, Florida, and Birmingham; and at UC Santa Barbara and Florida State. Schreiffer died July 27, 2019.

Trudy (est. 56) - Trudy, a western lowland gorilla, was thought to be the oldest of her species in captivity at the time of her death. She was one of the last gorillas captured in the wild. She died at the Little Rock, Arkansas, zoo on July 24, 2019.

Movies, Television, and Stage

Cameron Boyce (age 20) - Boyce was a child actor who appeared in Disney movies and television shows, including the Descendants franchises and the television show "Jessie." He appeared in feature films including Grown Ups and Grown Ups 2. He was known for his humanitarian work, including The Thirst Project and the LA United Way. Boyce died during an epileptic seizure on July 6, 2019.

Ruter Hauer (age 75) - the Dutch-born Hauer was a fixture in the '80s and '90s as a film villain, belying a gentle nature. He is often remembered for his breakout role as a replicant in the film Bladerunner (1982), but he had hundreds of film and television roles in a career that spanned five decades. Hauer died July 19, 2019.

Arte Johnson (age 90) - Johnson is perhaps best-remembered for his four years as a cast member of "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," for which he won a 1969 Emmy award. His characters included the smoking German general and the quintessential dirty old man. Johnson also appeared in films including Love at First Bite and The President's Analyst. Johnson died of cancer July 3, 2019.

Harold Prince (age 91) - Prince directed the first of dozens of plays, A Family Affair, in 1962; but didn't hit it big until 1965's Fiddler on the Roof. Over the next thirty years, Prince was regularly nominated for a Tony for his directing and/or producing, and won a total of 20 times for such productions as Evita, Sweeney Todd, and Phantom of the Opera. Prince received a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2007. He died July 31, 2019.

Russi Taylor (age 75) - For more than thirty years, Taylor was the voice of Minnie Mouse. She also voiced several characters on "The Simpsons" as well as a host of other animated characters from the '80s until her death. Taylor, who was married to the voice of Mickey Mouse (Wayne Allwine) was nominated for Emmy awards in 2006,02007, and 2018; and was a Disney Legend. She died of colon cancer on July 26, 2019.

Rip Torn (age 88) - Elmore "Rip" Torn had a decades-long career in film, television, and on the stage. A Texas native and the cousin of Sissy Spacek, Torn's career dates back to the 1950s. His roles ranged from that of Judas in King of Kings to Zed in Men In Black  (and MIB2). He received six Emmy nominations for his work on "The Larry Sanders Show," winning once (1996), and an Oscar nomination for Cross Creek. Torn died July 9, 2019.

Music

Johnny Clegg (age 65) - Trained as an anthropologist, Clegg early on opted to enter the field of music in his native South Africa. His first major band, Juluka, was a rarity in the apartheid era, featuring half white and half black members. Clegg was considered an activist for ignoring racial purity acts, but could only rarely perform in his homeland before the unification of the country. He died of pancreatic cancer on July 16, 2019.

Ras G (age 39) - Gregory Shorter, known by his hip hop nom de guerre Ras G, was a DJ, performer, and producer. He was co-founded Poo-Bah Records and was likewise associated with the label Brainfeeder. He released a dozen or so albums and EPs. Shorter died July 29, 2019, of heart failure and complications of pneumonia.

João Gilberto (age 88) - A Barazilian-born singer, guitarist, and songwriter, Gilberto was often considered the father of bossa nova and was long one of its most popular and enduring artists. He began playing the style in the '50s, but it made its way to the USA in a pair of albums recorded with jazz artist Stan Getz, the first of which won the duo a Grammy. Gilberto died July 6, 2019.

James Henke (age 65) - Henke was a long-time writer at Rolling Stone, with stories about such rock icons as Eric Clapron and Bruce Springsteen. In 1993, he left the magazine to assume a VP position at Elektra Records, but left after a year to become the chief curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Henke passed away July 9, 2019.

Jerry Lawson (age 75) - Lawson was the original lead singer of a capella group The Persuasions, who compiled a string of hits in the 1970s. The group released more than 20 albums between 1969 and Lawson's departure in 2003, several of which made the Billboard Top 100. After a brief hiatus from music, Lawson reappeared as a solo artist in 2005. He died July 10, 2019.

Art Neville (age 81) - The eldest of four brothers, Art Neville joined with his younger siblings to place the family stamp on the sound of New Orleans. As a member first of funk band The Meters and later of the Neville Brothers, Neville's keyboards and voice appeared on dozens of recordings from the '60s to the 2010s. Neville died July 22, 2019.

Politics

William Dannemeyer (age 89) - Dannemeyer was a Republican ember of the U. S. House, representing California's 39th District (Orange County) from 1979-1993. A staunch - some would say strident - conservative, Dannemeyer made a name for himself as an anti-LGB crusader. He ran for the U. S. Senate in 1992, but lost. After leaving Congress, Dannemeyer became a conservative gadfly, frequently spreading conspiracy theories about the Clinton family. Dannemeyer succumbed to dementia on July 9, 2019.

Beji Caid Essebsi (age 92) - Essebsi was the second elected president of Tunisia, a position he held from 2019 until his death on July 25, 2019. He was previously the Prime Minister during the "Arab Spring" and the presidency of Moncef Mouzarki. He is widely considered the "first freely elected president of Tunisia."

Bruce Laingen (age 96) - Laingen served in the U. S. Diplomatic Corps from the 1940s until 1979 when, as dhargé d'affaires at the Embassy in Tehran he was held captive by Iranian revolutionaries for 444. days. Prior to his Tehran posting, Laingen was ambassador to Malta, making him the senior staffer among the captives. Laingen died July 15, 2019.

H. Ross Perot (age 89) - A founder of Electronic Data Systems, Perot was one of the first tech billionaires. He will, however, be known as the most successful third-party presidential candidates in generations. He pulled almost 20% of the popular vote in the 1992 election, although no electoral college votes. He may well have been the model for the Ferengi in "Star Trek the Next Generation." Perot died of leukemia on July 9, 2019.

Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (age 96) - Prince Bandar was the eldest surviving member of the Saudi royal family and an elder half-brother of King Salman. Although of royal blood, he removed himself from the line of succession in 1982, reportedly for a large bribe. He was at one time director general of the Interior, a relatively minor government role. Prince Bandar died July 28, 2019.

John Paul Stevens (age 99) - Judge Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1975 until retiring in 2010. Although appointed by a Republican president (Gerald Ford), Stevens position on the court shifted to the "liberal" side by his retirement as justices such as Scalia, Thomas, and Alito dragged the court to the right. Stevens was replaced by Elizabeth Kagan upon retirement. He died July 16, 2019 after a stroke.

Sports

Jim Bouton (age 80) - Bouton was a pitcher in major league baseball, spending all or part of eight season with the Yankees, Astros, and Seattle Pilots in the 1960s. He retired in 1970, returning for part of the 1978 season with the Atlanta Braves. His lifetime record was 62-63, 2-1 in the World Series. He pitched in the 1963 All-Star game on his way to a 21-7 record. Bouton also wrote a diary of the 1968 series, Ball Four, a frank treatment of the league that hastened his retirement. He died July 10, 2019.

Ernie Broglio (age 83) - Broglio pitched in the major leagues from 1959 to 1966, most of that time with the St. Louis Cardinals before finishing up his career with the Cubs. He amassed a 77-74 record in 259 appearances, including leading the NL in wins in 1960. Broglio may be best remembered as a principal in the Cards-Cubs trade that brought Lou Brock to St. Louis. He died of cancer on July 16, 2019.

Nick Buoniconti (age 78) - Buoniconti was a Football Hall of Fame member, a linebacker for the Patriots and Dolphins. He spent six seasons (1962-68) with the AFL Boston Patriots before being traded to the Miami Dolphins in 1969. At Miami, he was a member of the famed "no-name" defense during three Superbowl seasons, including the undefeated 1972 season. He was a six-time AFL All-star, a 2-time Pro Bowler, and is on both the Patriots and Dolphins "ring of fame." Buoniconti passed away July 30, 2019.

Maxim Dadashev (age 28) - Dadashev was a Russian-born welterweight boxer, taking bronze and silver in the Russian national championships in back-to-back seasons. He turned professional in 2016, winning 13 of his 14 matches. In an event in Maryland on July 19, Dadashev was beaten badly and required assistance to leave the ring. He was hospitalized for TBI and died on July 23, 2019.

Pumpsie Green (age 85) - Elijah "Pumpsie" Green played infield positions for five seasons in the major leagues, breaking in in 1959 with the Boston Red Sox as the Red Sox' first black player. He was traded to the Mets in 1962, finishing his career in 1963. Green's nickname was a reference to his frequent flatulence as a child... he died July 17, 2019.

Cathy Inglese (age 60) - Inglese was the head coach of the women's basketball programs at three different universities, spanning 27 seasons in all. Her teams made ten NCAA tournament appearances, reaching the Sweet 16 with Boston College in 2005. Her teams compiled a lifetime record of 423-315. Inglese suffered a fatal brain injury in a fall and died July 24, 2019.

Greg Johnson (age 48) - Johnson was a Canadian hockey center who spent twelve seasons in the NHL, playing for the Red Wings, Blackhawks, Penguins, and Predators. He played in almost 800 games, amassing 350 points. Johnson also played on Canada's 1994 silver-medal Olympic team. Johnson passed away July 8, 2019.

Keith Lincoln (age 80) - Lincoln had an eight-year career as an pro football running back, playing six of those with the San Diego Chargers (1961-66 and 1968). He amassed more than 3500 yards rushing and 2200 receiving yards and was a five-time AFL all-star. Lincoln died July 27, 2019.

Lewis Lloyd (age 60) - Lloyd had a ten-year career in the National Basketball Association, playing for the Warriors, Rockets, and 76ers at different times. He spent two seasons in the CBA while suspended from the NBA for drug use. He finished withna carer average of 13.1 points per game, retiring after a second stint with the Rockets. Lloyd passed away July 5, 2019.

Walt Michaels (age 89) - Michaels had a twelve-year NFL career as a linebacker, including five consecutive years playing in the Pro Bowl and two NFL championships. After retiring from paying, Michaels spent more than a decade as defensive coordinator for the Jets and Eagles before rising to head coach of the Jets for six seasons, culminating in an AFC championship loss to the Dolphins in 1973. Michaels died July 10, 2019.

Don Mossi (age 90) - Mossi pitched twelve seasons in the major leagues, including stints with the Indians, Tigers, White Sox, and Athletics. He finished with a 101- 80 record plus 50 saves. He was an all-star in 1957. Mossi, who joined a pitching rotation including Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Bob Feller, was voted one of the 100 greatest Cleveland Indians of all time. He died July 19. 2019.

Bert Rechichar (age 89) - Rechichar played ten seasons in the NFL, breaking in with the Cleveland Browns in 1952 before a trade to the Colts in 1953. He spent the next seven seasons with the Colts as a defensive back and place kicker before finishing his career with the Steelers and Titans (later the Jets). His 56-yard field goal in 1953 held the NFL record until beaten by Tom Dempsey in 1970. Rechichar played on two championship teams and was a three-time Pro Bowler. He died July 19, 2019.

Mike Roarke (age 88) - After a four-year career as the Detroit Tigers second-string catcher, Roarke retired as a player to become the Tigers' bullpen coach. Over the next thirty seasons, Roarke managed in the minors before becoming a pitching coach for the Tigers, Cubs, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Padres. He coached two World Series-winning pitching staffs (1985, 1987) for the Cards. Roarke died July 27, 2019.

Rosie Ruiz (Vivas) (age 66) - Ruiz, a Cuban-American, was infamous for what is widely believed to have been her faked victory in the 1980 Boston Marathon. After being declared the winner, Ruiz was stripped of the victory 8 days later when witnesses said she entered the race course a mile from the finish. Ruiz died July 8, 2019.

Tyler Skaggs (age 27) - Skaggs was a pitcher in major league baseball. He was drafted by the L A Angels in 2009, and started for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2012 and 2013 seasons before being traded back to the Angels. His major league career ended with a 28-38 W-L record and a 4.41 ERA. Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room on July 1, 2019.

Pernell Whitaker (age 55) - Whitaker was a professional boxer who competed in the lightweight and light, lineal, and super welterweight classes during a career that lasted from 1984 to 2001. As an amateur, he won silver in the 1982 World Championships and Gold in the 1983 Pan American and 1984 Olympic Games. He finished his pro career with 40 wins in 46 fights, 17 by knockout. After retiring, Whitaker became a trainer. He was killed in a traffic accident on July 14, 2019.

Deaths in June, 2109  ---  Deaths in August, 2019