POLLY ANDERSON
Odetta, the folk singer with the powerful voice who moved audiences and influenced fellow musicians for a half-century, has died. She was 77.
Odetta, the folk singer with the powerful voice who moved audiences and influenced fellow musicians for a half-century, has died. She was 77.
Ted Rogers; 75: Communications icon
Moira Welsh
His business card read, "Ted Rogers, Senior Salesperson." It could have easily said, Electronic Visionary, Sleepless CEO or Relentless Entrepreneur.
Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, 79: Las Vegas gaming executive
Tamara Lush
Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal – sports handicapper extraordinaire, Las Vegas gaming executive and the inspiration for the blockbuster movie Casino – died Monday. He was 79.
Constance Rooke, 65; Constant champion of Canuck writing
Susan Walker
Constance Rooke, a champion of Canadian writing, an editor, a writer, a scholar and a beloved teacher has died after a long bout with ovarian cancer.
Paul Newman, 83: Acting legend
Peter Howell
The actor and humanitarian Paul Newman was one of the most prodigious talents ever to grace a screen, stage or podium.
Ralph Sazio, 86: Football legend
Dan Ralph
Bob O'Billovich will forever be in Ralph Sazio's debt.
Former cabinet minister James Snow dies
Noor Javed
Most people retire once, but James Snow retired many times during his life, becoming one of the most powerful cabinet ministers in the Bill Davis government of the 1970s.
Russian double agent dies in obscurity
Olivia Ward
Few spies were deeper in the shadows than Yuri Nosenko, who died last month as he had lived – in an obscure location, recognized by few and under an assumed name.
Erik Nielsen, 84: Former Tory MP
Erik Nielsen, a former deputy prime minister in Brian Mulroney's Tory government and elder brother of comic actor Leslie Nielsen, has died at his home in Kelowna, B.C., at age 84.
Jerry Reed, 71: Singer and actor
JOHN GEROME
Jerry Reed, a singer who became a good ol' boy actor in car chase movies like Smokey and the Bandit , has died of complications from emphysema at 71.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 89: Dissident Soviet writer
Carol J. Williams
Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the reclusive icon of the Russian intelligentsia and chronicler of Communist repression, died yesterday. He was 89.
Tony Snow, 53: White House press secretary
Peter Wallsten
Tony Snow, the conservative commentator who brought a flashy, talk-show style of repartee to the job of White House press secretary, died yesterday in a Washington hospital after a high-profile battle with colon cancer. He was 53.
Oliver Schroer, 52: Boundary-pushing violinist
GREG QUILL
Oliver Schroer was a late bloomer. But boy did he bloom. Over a 25-year career, the violin virtuoso produced or performed on more than 100 albums and wrote more than 1,000 pieces of music.
Yves Saint Laurent , 71: Fashion designer
Elaine Ganley
Yves Saint Laurent, who reworked the rules of fashion by putting women into elegant pantsuits that came to define how modern women dressed, died yesterday evening. He was 71.
Sydney Pollack, 73: Oscar-winning director
RAQUEL MARIA DILLON
Sydney Pollack was remembered by some of the elite actors he directed in films such as Out of Africa, Tootsie, and Absence of Malice, not only for his Academy Award-winning direction, but also for his acting talents.
Irena Sendler, 98: Rescued thousands from Nazis
Monika Scislowska
Irena Sendler, credited with saving some 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazi Holocaust by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, some of them in baskets, died yesterday, her family said.
Phil Stone, 94: Brought rock 'n' roll to Toronto
Philip Mascoll
On May 27, 1957, at 4:23 p.m. in Toronto, CHUM broadcaster Phil Stone changed Canadian radio forever.
Allan Sparrow, 63: Activist and councillor
Vanessa Lu
Allan Sparrow, the wild-haired impassioned activist and city politician who helped stop the Spadina Expressway and opposed the bridge to the island airport, has died at 63.
Dith Pran, 65: 'Killing Fields' survivor
Richard Pyle
Dith Pran, the Cambodian-born journalist whose harrowing tale of enslavement and eventual escape from that country's murderous Khmer Rouge revolutionaries in 1979 became the subject of the award-winning film "The Killing Fields," died Sunday, colleague Sydney Schanberg said.
Paul Scofield, 86: Oscar-winning actor
Audrey Woods
Paul Scofield, the towering British stage actor who won international fame and an Academy Award for the film A Man for All Seasons, has died. He was 86.
Geoffrey Pearson, 80: PM's son, diplomat
bruce campion-smith
Geoffrey Pearson, the son of former prime minister Lester B. Pearson, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, had a tough act to follow.
Simon Reisman, 88: Free trade negotiator
Susan Delacourt
Just as the North American Free Trade Agreement is exploding in the headlines again north and south of the U.S. border, Canada has lost Simon Reisman, the man who helped bring this country the auto pact and Canada-U.S. free trade.
Jordan Pearlson, 83: Rabbi fostered interfaith dialogue
John Goddard
Rabbi Jordan Pearlson, who rented a church for his congregation's first service, has died at 83.
Mickey Renaud, 19: OHL Spitfires captain
Mickey Renaud was making all the improvements necessary to become an NHL player.
Henri Salvador, 90: French singer
JENNY BARCHFIELD
Henri Salvador, the velvet-voiced French musician credited with inspiring the bossa nova, bringing American rock 'n' roll to France and helping to create the music video, died Wednesday, his record label said. He was 90.
Roy Scheider, 75: 'Jaws' actor
JILL ZEMAN
Roy Scheider, a one-time boxer whose broken nose and pugnacious acting style made him a star in “The French Connection” and who later uttered one of cinematic history’s most memorable roles in “Jaws,” has died.
Suharto, 86: Former Indonesian president
Richard C. Paddock
Former Indonesian president Suharto, an army general who rose to power with the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people and ruled for 32 years over an era of rapid economic growth and extraordinary graft, died yesterday. He was 86.
John Stewart, 68: Wrote 'Daydream Believer'
JOHN ROGERS
John Stewart recorded some of pop music's most acclaimed solo albums, helping create a style that came to be called Americana, but he was always best known for writing the Monkees' enduring hit "Daydream Believer.''
Andy Palacio, 47: Belizean musician
Belizean musician Andy Palacio, who brought the world the music of the Garifuna people descended from Central American natives and shipwrecked African slaves, has died aged 47.
Suzanne Pleshette, 70: 'Newhart' co-star
Suzanne Pleshette, the husky-voiced film and theatre star best known for her role as Bob Newhart's sardonic wife on television's long-running The Bob Newhart Show, has died. She was 70.
Brad Renfro, 25: Former child actor
JACOB ADELMAN
Actor Brad Renfro, whose career began promisingly with a childhood role in The Client but rapidly faded as he struggled with drugs and alcohol, was found dead Tuesday in his home. He was 25.
James Potticary, 84: Former mayor of Oshawa
Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew
As a teenager, James Potticary served in World War II and survived being blown up by a mine.
Ken Nelson, 96: Country talent scout
Ken Nelson, a longtime talent scout at Capitol Records who produced dozens of No. 1 country music hits and helped push Buck Owens and Merle Haggard to country stardom in the 1960s, has died. He was 96.
Weepin' Willie Robinson, 81: Blues singer
"Weepin' " Willie Robinson, a blues singer who performed with Steven Tyler and Bonnie Raitt but also spent time homeless, has died at age 81.
Oscar Peterson, 82: Jazz giant
Ashante Infantry
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson will be honoured posthumously next month at a prestigious annual gathering of the global jazz community in Toronto.
Roger Smith, 82: Former General Motors CEO
TOM KRISHER
Roger B. Smith, who led General Motors Corp. in the 1980s and was the subject of Michael Moore's searing documentary "Roger and Me," has died, the automaker said Friday. He was 82.
Jane Rule, 76: Lesbian author was role model
Philip Marchand
Novelist Jane Rule, whose life and work were a combined statement in support of social equality and personal generosity, died last night of liver cancer at her home on Galiano Island, B.C.
Herbert Saffir, 90: Creator of hurricane scale
JESSICA GRESKO
Herbert Saffir, an engineer who created the five-category system used to describe hurricane strength and warn millions of an approaching storm's danger, has died. He was 90.
Richard O'Brien, 59: BamBoo co-founder
Raju Mudhar
It is a testament to the resonating power of Richard O'Brien and the BamBoo that both are fondly remembered five years after the nightclub and its renowned upstairs patio were closed. More than just a bar, it was a Toronto landmark that helped usher in the Queen St. W. that we know today.
Anita Roddick, 64: Body Shop founder
David Graham
Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop died yesterday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. She was 64.
Luciano Pavarotti, 71: Famed tenor
John Terauds
Every generation gets its legendary operatic tenor. But Luciano Pavarotti, who died Thursday at age 71, was no ordinary legend.
Bruce Swerdfager, 79: Stratford original
Richard Ouzounian
The ever-diminishing list of survivors from the first season of the Stratford Festival grew smaller yesterday when Bruce Swerdfager died of complications from diabetes at the age of 79.
Phil Rizzuto, 89: Yankees shortstop
Associated Press
Phil Rizzuto, the Hall of Fame shortstop during the Yankees' dynasty years and beloved by a generation of fans for exclaiming "Holy cow!" as a broadcaster, died Tuesday. He was 89.
Tom Snyder, 71: 'Most sincere TV host'
Jim Bawden
The death of Tom Snyder robbed the U.S. TV news business of one of its more outspoken players.
Rick Orchard, 48: Passionate and versatile editor
John Goddard
One of the Star's most versatile editors, Rick Orchard, died suddenly on Sunday. Today would have been his 49th birthday. Respected for his editing talent, inquisitiveness, passion for ideas and thoughtfulness toward others, the inspiring journalist left his mark across this newspaper.
Beverly Sills, 78: Renowned soprano
VERENA DOBNIK
Beverly Sills, the Brooklyn-born opera diva who was a global icon of can-do American culture with her dazzling voice, bubbly personality and management moxie in the arts world, has died of cancer, her manager said. She was 78.
Gerry Singleton, 62: Computer wizard
Catherine Dunphy
Rena Singleton said her husband of 37 years – a hard-wired, brilliant computer programmer who died May 12 of cardiac arrest – had been "gentled" by middle age.
Guy de Rothschild, 98: Head of banking empire
Baron Guy de Rothschild, who managed his family's French banking empire and saw it taken over first during the Nazi occupation and then by a Socialist government 40 years later, has died. He was 98.
Peter Simpson, 64: Canadian film legend
Martin Knelman
Peter Simpson loomed large not only in the Canadian film industry, but also in the advertising world and in the backrooms of Ottawa.
Charles Nelson Reilly, 76: Tonight Show regular
Charles Nelson Reilly, a Tony Award winner who later became known for his ribald appearances on the "Tonight Show" and various game shows, has died.
Terry Ryan, 60: Best-selling author
Dennis McLellan
Terry Ryan, the author of the best-selling 2001 memoir The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less, has died of brain cancer at her home in San Francisco, said Pat Holt, her partner of 24 years.
Petro Sydorenko, 80: Artist, survivor
john Goddard
To call Petro Sydorenko a survivor is to put it mildly.
Jim O'Connell, 48: TV journalist
TV journalist Jim O'Connell, one of the Business News Network channel's key hosts, has died of colon cancer that was detected in February.
Walter Schirra, 84: NASA's funniest astronaut
Mark Carreau
Walter "Wally" Schirra prized his out-sized sense of humour almost as much as the flying prowess that made him the only NASA astronaut to fly Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions.
Tom Poston, 85: Comic actor
Bob Thomas
Tom Poston, the tall, pasty-faced comic who found fame and fortune playing a clueless everyman on such hit television shows as Newhart and Mork and Mindy, has died.
Mstislav Rostropovich, 80: Cellist, crusader
Martin Steinberg
Mstislav Rostropovich, the ebullient master cellist who courageously fought for the rights of Soviet-era dissidents and later triumphantly played Bach suites below the crumbling Berlin Wall, has died. He was 80.
Brant Parker, 86: Wizard of Id cartoonist
Cartoonist Brant Parker, who co-created the comic strip The Wizard of Id and rendered its medieval kingdom for more than three decades, has died. He was 86.
Madison Sale, 96: Newspaper photographer
Catherine Dunphy
Journalism wasn't always the prim, buttoned-down profession many deem it to be now.
Barry Nelson, 89: Original James Bond
Barry Nelson, a Broadway leading man who launched his career at MGM in the 1940s and earned a niche in show business history as the first actor to play British secret agent James Bond – as an American named Jimmy Bond in a live television production of Casino Royale in the 1950s – has died. He was 89.
Harry Rasky, 78: Documentary filmmaker
Jim Bawden
Harry Rasky, one of the shining lights of non-fiction filmmaking on Canadian television from the beginning, died in hospital Monday at 78 following hip surgery.
Jimmy Lee Smith, 76: Onion Field killer
Jimmy Lee Smith, the lifelong criminal whose role in the 1963 kidnapping and killing of a police officer inspired Joseph Wambaugh's true-life crime novel The Onion Field , has died in jail. He was 76.
Arthur Schlesinger, 89: Kennedy historian
Hillel Italie
In his 89 years, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, a Kennedy insider, and an influential thinker who helped define mainstream liberalism during the Cold War.
Weiser lock magnate knew Nixon
LOS ANGELES–Fred J. Russell, a businessman who transformed a bankrupt foundry into a leading seller of residential locks and who served in the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon, died Jan. 9 in Los Angeles from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 90.
Johnny, 44: Forager, free spirit, chess man
Catherine Dunphy
Johnny, they hardly knew ya. But how they loved you, these men and women who make the Salvation Army's Gateway drop-in centre their second – some of them might say first – home.
A home full of stuff to treasure
Michele Henry
She was the ultimate collector.
Percy Saltzman, 91: Weatherman had signature chalk-toss
Percy Saltzman, the first man to appear on Canadian English-language television and the first meteorologist employed by the CBC, died Monday at the age of 91.
Kelly Silverstein, 42: A full life's worth of big-hearted giving
Catherine Dunphy
People usually have only nice things to say about the departed – some of which might even be true – but with Kelly Silverstein people always had only nice things to say about him.
Olive Navis, 89: Used bookseller was a friend to customers
Catherine Dunphy
One of the bonuses of living in a big city is the small bookstore.
Jack Palance, 87: Menacing actor
Jack Palance, the craggy-faced menace in Shane, Sudden Fear and other films who turned to comedy at 70 with his Oscar-winning self-parody in City Slickers, died Nov. 10. He was 87.
Kay Riddell Rouillard, 99: A lifelong friend of the underdog
Catherine Dunphy
Kay Riddell Rouillard's life lasted a long time — more than 99 years — and cut a wide swath through seemingly disparate strata of society. She was a church minister's daughter, a United Nations diplomat's wife as well as the heart and energy source of what became U of T's International Student Centre.
Wilma Paul, 71: Scooter activist
Jack Lakey
Wilma Paul was frightened that her motorized scooter would tip over some day, and she had good reason to be afraid, the Star's Jack Lakey writes.
Gino Nangini, 70: Taught Italian
Tamara Cherry
Gino Nangini's undertaking in the basement of St. Mary of the Angels Church in 1961 brought no financial reward, but the newly landed immigrant saw a need and he filled it. In order to maintain the integrity of his native tongue, he began teaching the Italian language to children of Italian descent. The Star's Tamara Cherry tells you more.
David Simpson, 53: Could've been a Jeopardy contender
Catherine Dunphy
David Simpson played games. Seven-hour games. Games that recreated famous battles such as Waterloo or that recreated the history of the world, or that involved aerial and naval strategies or both, and, especially, his beloved railways. Oh, and then there was Jeopardy. Catherine Dunphy reports.
Georgina Steinsky-Sehnoutka, 83: Poet loved her homeland
Meghan Waters
Georgina Steinsky-Sehnoutka fled communist-controlled Czechoslovakia as a young woman, but her children say she never stopped lamenting her lost homeland.
Derek Sawyer, 63: Exalted bell-ringer
Catherine Dunphy
Derek Sawyer was Toronto's lord of the rings, the man who brought North America's first — and so far only — set of 12 glorious change bells to the tower of St. James' Cathedral, writes Catherine Dunphy.
Mickey Spillane, 88: Master of the gumshoe
BRUCE SMITH
CHARLESTON, S.C.—Mickey Spillane, the macho mystery writer who wowed millions of readers with the shoot-'em-up sex and violence of gumshoe Mike Hammer, died yesterday. He was 88.
Jean Shek, 86: Choir's 'guiding light'
Catherine Dunphy
Jean Shek was officially a former co-chair of the Toronto Jewish Folk Choir; unofficially she was its glue. Last week they sang for her, because she was everything to them, reports Obituary writer Catherine Dunphy.
Lorne Saxberg, 48: Veteran CBC anchor
Veteran CBC news anchor Lorne Saxberg has died in a snorkelling accident while on vacation in Phuket, Thailand, CBC News reported on its website.
Bert Oldershaw, 84: Olympic paddler
Daniel Nolan
Bert Oldershaw, founder of the Mississauga Canoe Club and a finalist in the 1948 Olympic Games in London, the 1952 Games in Helsinki and the 1956 Games in Melbourne, has died at age 84.
Dr. Joyce Nsubuga, 59: Met Uganda's needs
Catherine Dunphy
Dr. Joyce Nsubuga loved Canada. It gave her safety from a regime that had killed her first husband. But coming here also cost her a promising career. That didn't stop her, Catherine Dunphy writes.
Bernard Ostry, 78: Head of TVOntario
John Goddard
Bernard Ostry, one of the most creative public servants of his generation, died of cancer May 24 at 78.
Floyd Patterson, 71: Heavyweight champion of the world
Floyd Patterson (above, right), who came back from an embarrassing loss to become the first boxer to regain the heavyweight title of the world, died Thursday, May 11. He was 71.
Louis Rukeyser, 73: Financial expert
Louis Rukeyser, a best-selling author, columnist, lecturer and television host who delivered pun-filled, commonsense commentary on complicated business and economic news, has died. He was 73.
Mike Spironello touched many lives
Heba Aly
Every Wednesday, in a basement gym on King St. W., Mike Spironello's legs pedalled furiously to the DJ's beats. He taught three, hour-long classes in a row to a following of spinners — old and young, timid and overweight.
Gene Pitney, 65: Singer had string of hits
By ROBERT BARR
Gene Pitney, whose keening tenor voice produced a string of hits including "Town Without Pity" was found dead in his hotel room in Wales Wednesday, April 5, following a concert that fans acclaimed as one of his best. He was 65.
Red Storey, 88: Hall-of-fame referee
Grey Cup winner and hall of fame hockey referee Red Storey has died. He was 88.
Maureen Stapleton, 80: Earned rare grand slam of acting
Jim Bawden
Maureen Stapleton was sitting quietly in her mobile dressing room on the set of the TV miniseries Little Gloria, Happy At Last (1982). The shoot was at the McLaughlin Estate in Oshawa, made to look like the Vanderbilt home in Newport, R.I.
Kirby Puckett, 45: Hall of Fame baseball player
Kirby Puckett didn't need much time to make a big impact. Those who felt it, near and far, can only wish he had stayed around longer.
Dana Reeve, 44: Heroic widow of fallen 'Superman' star
Dana Reeve, who won worldwide admiration for her devotion to her "Superman" husband, Christopher Reeve, through his decade of near-total paralysis, has died of lung cancer at the age of 44.
Jackie Shepherd, 73: A friend to the average family
Mike Funston
Jackie Shepherd never backed down from a fight, whether it was against slum landlords, political heavyweights or big supermarkets gouging consumers.
Rosa Parks, 92: Civil rights hero
E.R. Shipp
Rosa Parks, a black seamstress whose refusal to relinquish her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Ala., almost 50 years ago grew into a mythic event that helped touch off the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, died Oct. 25. She was 92 years old.
William Rehnquist, 80: Chief Justice of the United States
Gina Holland
WASHINGTON—Many Americans wouldn't have recognized William Rehnquist if they saw him on the street. But his decisions shaped the way most of them live. In more than 33 years on the U.S. Supreme Court, the conservative Rehnquist, 80, who died Saturday, Sept. 17, voted in hundreds of cases dealing with abortion rights, religion, affirmative action, free speech, age discrimination, immigrant deportations and police powers.
Heather Joy Skelton, 60: Last lesson was letting go
Catherine Dunphy
She was always trailblazing. One of the first women in IBM's marketing department, she was also one of the first to go out on her own to advise other women about making money and investments according to their personalities, lifestyles and beliefs. Catherine Dunphy memorializes Heather Joy Skelton, the founder of the Omega Centre.
Ann Szedlecki, 79: 'Nobody's daughter' spoke up
Catherine Dunphy
Ann Szedlecki lost her entire family to the Holocaust and was imprisoned as a teen in a Soviet gulag. After coming to Canada and discovering her storyteller's voice in a creative writing class, she became a powerful speaker and teacher. Catherine Dunphy memorializes her.
Dr. Douglas Salmon, 81: Surgeon, scholar
Philip Mascoll
Dr. John Douglas Graham Roy Salmon was a kind and wonderful person who had to struggle for everything he achieved, his family and friends say. Salmon, who died Wednesday, Sept. 21, at age 81, wasn't only the first black surgeon in Canada. He was an accomplished pianist, scholar, athlete and sculptor as well. Philip Mascoll reports.
Ernest Alva (Smokey) Smith, 91: The last Canadian hero
Stephen Thorne
Hordes of German troops couldn't take him, but time finally did. Ernest Alva (Smokey) Smith, Canada's last winner of the Victoria Cross, has died at his home in Vancouver. He was 91. Born in New Westminster, B.C., on May 3, 1914, Smith was a joyful man with an impish smile who savoured a good cigar, a well-aged scotch and the attentions of ladies the world over.
Dr. Ian Nakamura, 44: A doctor who made housecalls
Catherine Dunphy
Dr. Ian Nakamura was a devoted family physician who made house calls a daily habit, often starting his rounds by 7 a.m. and finishing long past 6 p.m. He also had a hole in his heart and despite urgings to slow down, he maintained his pace. Catherine Dunphy reports.
Kay Snelgrove, 84: Intrepid spy and courier
Catherine Dunphy
Every family has its secrets. And had the 1976 bestseller A Man Called Intrepid, not been written, Kay Snelgrove's family might never have learned of hers. In the early years of World War II, she helped deliver messages between British and American officials, crossing the border in New Brunswick as a student studying in Boston. Catherine Dunphy explains.
Bernie Share, 74: Kitsch king of Queen St.
Catherine Dunphy
Bernie Share's funeral on April 17 was fit for the king he was. His partner, Susan, moved some of his favourite things — Iranian carpets, the carved ornamental side tables, the bobble-headed hula dolls, the jelly mould in the shape of a naked female torso and five of the 40-plus cowboy hats he owned into four rooms of the Bates & Dodds funeral home. Catherine Dunphy reports.
Prince Rainier III, 81: Beloved monarch transformed Monaco
Thierry Boinet
MONACO - Prince Rainier, who reshaped Monaco and worked to overcome its reputation as "a sunny place for shady people," died today, leaving the throne to his son, Prince Albert.
Pope John Paul II, 84: A shepherd for the ages
Born on May 18, 1920, to a family of modest means in Wadowice, near Krakow, Karol Wojtyla was destined for a towering role in the tumultuous closing years of the 20th century. Leslie Scrivener discusses Pope John Paul II's complex legacy.
Robin Spry, 65: Filmed October Crisis of 1970
LuAnn LaSalle
MONTREAL - Canadian filmmaker Robin Spry, known for his portrayal of the 1970 October Crisis, touched the spectrum of his industry as a documentary maker, director, writer and producer in film and television.
Gordon Roper, 93: Prof. helped bring CanLit to world
Catherine Dunphy
Gathered around Mollie Cartmell's kitchen table in Peterborough are the chair, associate chair and past chair of Trent University's department of English, talking about the man who has meant the world to them and who helped bring the world the study and appreciation of Canadian literature. Catherine Dunphy memorializes Prof. Gordon Roper.
Bobby Short, 80: Saloon singer epitomized style
NEW YORK — Cabaret singer Bobby Short, the tuxedoed embodiment of New York style and sophistication who was a fixture at his piano in the Carlyle Hotel for more than 35 years, died Monday. He was 80.
Moira Welsh
His business card read, "Ted Rogers, Senior Salesperson." It could have easily said, Electronic Visionary, Sleepless CEO or Relentless Entrepreneur.
Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, 79: Las Vegas gaming executive
Tamara Lush
Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal – sports handicapper extraordinaire, Las Vegas gaming executive and the inspiration for the blockbuster movie Casino – died Monday. He was 79.
Constance Rooke, 65; Constant champion of Canuck writing
Susan Walker
Constance Rooke, a champion of Canadian writing, an editor, a writer, a scholar and a beloved teacher has died after a long bout with ovarian cancer.
Paul Newman, 83: Acting legend
Peter Howell
The actor and humanitarian Paul Newman was one of the most prodigious talents ever to grace a screen, stage or podium.
Ralph Sazio, 86: Football legend
Dan Ralph
Bob O'Billovich will forever be in Ralph Sazio's debt.
Former cabinet minister James Snow dies
Noor Javed
Most people retire once, but James Snow retired many times during his life, becoming one of the most powerful cabinet ministers in the Bill Davis government of the 1970s.
Russian double agent dies in obscurity
Olivia Ward
Few spies were deeper in the shadows than Yuri Nosenko, who died last month as he had lived – in an obscure location, recognized by few and under an assumed name.
Erik Nielsen, 84: Former Tory MP
Erik Nielsen, a former deputy prime minister in Brian Mulroney's Tory government and elder brother of comic actor Leslie Nielsen, has died at his home in Kelowna, B.C., at age 84.
Jerry Reed, 71: Singer and actor
JOHN GEROME
Jerry Reed, a singer who became a good ol' boy actor in car chase movies like Smokey and the Bandit , has died of complications from emphysema at 71.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 89: Dissident Soviet writer
Carol J. Williams
Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the reclusive icon of the Russian intelligentsia and chronicler of Communist repression, died yesterday. He was 89.
Tony Snow, 53: White House press secretary
Peter Wallsten
Tony Snow, the conservative commentator who brought a flashy, talk-show style of repartee to the job of White House press secretary, died yesterday in a Washington hospital after a high-profile battle with colon cancer. He was 53.
Oliver Schroer, 52: Boundary-pushing violinist
GREG QUILL
Oliver Schroer was a late bloomer. But boy did he bloom. Over a 25-year career, the violin virtuoso produced or performed on more than 100 albums and wrote more than 1,000 pieces of music.
Yves Saint Laurent , 71: Fashion designer
Elaine Ganley
Yves Saint Laurent, who reworked the rules of fashion by putting women into elegant pantsuits that came to define how modern women dressed, died yesterday evening. He was 71.
Sydney Pollack, 73: Oscar-winning director
RAQUEL MARIA DILLON
Sydney Pollack was remembered by some of the elite actors he directed in films such as Out of Africa, Tootsie, and Absence of Malice, not only for his Academy Award-winning direction, but also for his acting talents.
Irena Sendler, 98: Rescued thousands from Nazis
Monika Scislowska
Irena Sendler, credited with saving some 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazi Holocaust by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, some of them in baskets, died yesterday, her family said.
Phil Stone, 94: Brought rock 'n' roll to Toronto
Philip Mascoll
On May 27, 1957, at 4:23 p.m. in Toronto, CHUM broadcaster Phil Stone changed Canadian radio forever.
Allan Sparrow, 63: Activist and councillor
Vanessa Lu
Allan Sparrow, the wild-haired impassioned activist and city politician who helped stop the Spadina Expressway and opposed the bridge to the island airport, has died at 63.
Dith Pran, 65: 'Killing Fields' survivor
Richard Pyle
Dith Pran, the Cambodian-born journalist whose harrowing tale of enslavement and eventual escape from that country's murderous Khmer Rouge revolutionaries in 1979 became the subject of the award-winning film "The Killing Fields," died Sunday, colleague Sydney Schanberg said.
Paul Scofield, 86: Oscar-winning actor
Audrey Woods
Paul Scofield, the towering British stage actor who won international fame and an Academy Award for the film A Man for All Seasons, has died. He was 86.
Geoffrey Pearson, 80: PM's son, diplomat
bruce campion-smith
Geoffrey Pearson, the son of former prime minister Lester B. Pearson, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, had a tough act to follow.
Simon Reisman, 88: Free trade negotiator
Susan Delacourt
Just as the North American Free Trade Agreement is exploding in the headlines again north and south of the U.S. border, Canada has lost Simon Reisman, the man who helped bring this country the auto pact and Canada-U.S. free trade.
Jordan Pearlson, 83: Rabbi fostered interfaith dialogue
John Goddard
Rabbi Jordan Pearlson, who rented a church for his congregation's first service, has died at 83.
Mickey Renaud, 19: OHL Spitfires captain
Mickey Renaud was making all the improvements necessary to become an NHL player.
Henri Salvador, 90: French singer
JENNY BARCHFIELD
Henri Salvador, the velvet-voiced French musician credited with inspiring the bossa nova, bringing American rock 'n' roll to France and helping to create the music video, died Wednesday, his record label said. He was 90.
Roy Scheider, 75: 'Jaws' actor
JILL ZEMAN
Roy Scheider, a one-time boxer whose broken nose and pugnacious acting style made him a star in “The French Connection” and who later uttered one of cinematic history’s most memorable roles in “Jaws,” has died.
Suharto, 86: Former Indonesian president
Richard C. Paddock
Former Indonesian president Suharto, an army general who rose to power with the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people and ruled for 32 years over an era of rapid economic growth and extraordinary graft, died yesterday. He was 86.
John Stewart, 68: Wrote 'Daydream Believer'
JOHN ROGERS
John Stewart recorded some of pop music's most acclaimed solo albums, helping create a style that came to be called Americana, but he was always best known for writing the Monkees' enduring hit "Daydream Believer.''
Andy Palacio, 47: Belizean musician
Belizean musician Andy Palacio, who brought the world the music of the Garifuna people descended from Central American natives and shipwrecked African slaves, has died aged 47.
Suzanne Pleshette, 70: 'Newhart' co-star
Suzanne Pleshette, the husky-voiced film and theatre star best known for her role as Bob Newhart's sardonic wife on television's long-running The Bob Newhart Show, has died. She was 70.
Brad Renfro, 25: Former child actor
JACOB ADELMAN
Actor Brad Renfro, whose career began promisingly with a childhood role in The Client but rapidly faded as he struggled with drugs and alcohol, was found dead Tuesday in his home. He was 25.
James Potticary, 84: Former mayor of Oshawa
Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew
As a teenager, James Potticary served in World War II and survived being blown up by a mine.
Ken Nelson, 96: Country talent scout
Ken Nelson, a longtime talent scout at Capitol Records who produced dozens of No. 1 country music hits and helped push Buck Owens and Merle Haggard to country stardom in the 1960s, has died. He was 96.
Weepin' Willie Robinson, 81: Blues singer
"Weepin' " Willie Robinson, a blues singer who performed with Steven Tyler and Bonnie Raitt but also spent time homeless, has died at age 81.
Oscar Peterson, 82: Jazz giant
Ashante Infantry
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson will be honoured posthumously next month at a prestigious annual gathering of the global jazz community in Toronto.
Roger Smith, 82: Former General Motors CEO
TOM KRISHER
Roger B. Smith, who led General Motors Corp. in the 1980s and was the subject of Michael Moore's searing documentary "Roger and Me," has died, the automaker said Friday. He was 82.
Jane Rule, 76: Lesbian author was role model
Philip Marchand
Novelist Jane Rule, whose life and work were a combined statement in support of social equality and personal generosity, died last night of liver cancer at her home on Galiano Island, B.C.
Herbert Saffir, 90: Creator of hurricane scale
JESSICA GRESKO
Herbert Saffir, an engineer who created the five-category system used to describe hurricane strength and warn millions of an approaching storm's danger, has died. He was 90.
Richard O'Brien, 59: BamBoo co-founder
Raju Mudhar
It is a testament to the resonating power of Richard O'Brien and the BamBoo that both are fondly remembered five years after the nightclub and its renowned upstairs patio were closed. More than just a bar, it was a Toronto landmark that helped usher in the Queen St. W. that we know today.
Anita Roddick, 64: Body Shop founder
David Graham
Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop died yesterday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. She was 64.
Luciano Pavarotti, 71: Famed tenor
John Terauds
Every generation gets its legendary operatic tenor. But Luciano Pavarotti, who died Thursday at age 71, was no ordinary legend.
Bruce Swerdfager, 79: Stratford original
Richard Ouzounian
The ever-diminishing list of survivors from the first season of the Stratford Festival grew smaller yesterday when Bruce Swerdfager died of complications from diabetes at the age of 79.
Phil Rizzuto, 89: Yankees shortstop
Associated Press
Phil Rizzuto, the Hall of Fame shortstop during the Yankees' dynasty years and beloved by a generation of fans for exclaiming "Holy cow!" as a broadcaster, died Tuesday. He was 89.
Tom Snyder, 71: 'Most sincere TV host'
Jim Bawden
The death of Tom Snyder robbed the U.S. TV news business of one of its more outspoken players.
Rick Orchard, 48: Passionate and versatile editor
John Goddard
One of the Star's most versatile editors, Rick Orchard, died suddenly on Sunday. Today would have been his 49th birthday. Respected for his editing talent, inquisitiveness, passion for ideas and thoughtfulness toward others, the inspiring journalist left his mark across this newspaper.
Beverly Sills, 78: Renowned soprano
VERENA DOBNIK
Beverly Sills, the Brooklyn-born opera diva who was a global icon of can-do American culture with her dazzling voice, bubbly personality and management moxie in the arts world, has died of cancer, her manager said. She was 78.
Gerry Singleton, 62: Computer wizard
Catherine Dunphy
Rena Singleton said her husband of 37 years – a hard-wired, brilliant computer programmer who died May 12 of cardiac arrest – had been "gentled" by middle age.
Guy de Rothschild, 98: Head of banking empire
Baron Guy de Rothschild, who managed his family's French banking empire and saw it taken over first during the Nazi occupation and then by a Socialist government 40 years later, has died. He was 98.
Peter Simpson, 64: Canadian film legend
Martin Knelman
Peter Simpson loomed large not only in the Canadian film industry, but also in the advertising world and in the backrooms of Ottawa.
Charles Nelson Reilly, 76: Tonight Show regular
Charles Nelson Reilly, a Tony Award winner who later became known for his ribald appearances on the "Tonight Show" and various game shows, has died.
Terry Ryan, 60: Best-selling author
Dennis McLellan
Terry Ryan, the author of the best-selling 2001 memoir The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less, has died of brain cancer at her home in San Francisco, said Pat Holt, her partner of 24 years.
Petro Sydorenko, 80: Artist, survivor
john Goddard
To call Petro Sydorenko a survivor is to put it mildly.
Jim O'Connell, 48: TV journalist
TV journalist Jim O'Connell, one of the Business News Network channel's key hosts, has died of colon cancer that was detected in February.
Walter Schirra, 84: NASA's funniest astronaut
Mark Carreau
Walter "Wally" Schirra prized his out-sized sense of humour almost as much as the flying prowess that made him the only NASA astronaut to fly Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions.
Tom Poston, 85: Comic actor
Bob Thomas
Tom Poston, the tall, pasty-faced comic who found fame and fortune playing a clueless everyman on such hit television shows as Newhart and Mork and Mindy, has died.
Mstislav Rostropovich, 80: Cellist, crusader
Martin Steinberg
Mstislav Rostropovich, the ebullient master cellist who courageously fought for the rights of Soviet-era dissidents and later triumphantly played Bach suites below the crumbling Berlin Wall, has died. He was 80.
Brant Parker, 86: Wizard of Id cartoonist
Cartoonist Brant Parker, who co-created the comic strip The Wizard of Id and rendered its medieval kingdom for more than three decades, has died. He was 86.
Madison Sale, 96: Newspaper photographer
Catherine Dunphy
Journalism wasn't always the prim, buttoned-down profession many deem it to be now.
Barry Nelson, 89: Original James Bond
Barry Nelson, a Broadway leading man who launched his career at MGM in the 1940s and earned a niche in show business history as the first actor to play British secret agent James Bond – as an American named Jimmy Bond in a live television production of Casino Royale in the 1950s – has died. He was 89.
Harry Rasky, 78: Documentary filmmaker
Jim Bawden
Harry Rasky, one of the shining lights of non-fiction filmmaking on Canadian television from the beginning, died in hospital Monday at 78 following hip surgery.
Jimmy Lee Smith, 76: Onion Field killer
Jimmy Lee Smith, the lifelong criminal whose role in the 1963 kidnapping and killing of a police officer inspired Joseph Wambaugh's true-life crime novel The Onion Field , has died in jail. He was 76.
Arthur Schlesinger, 89: Kennedy historian
Hillel Italie
In his 89 years, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, a Kennedy insider, and an influential thinker who helped define mainstream liberalism during the Cold War.
Weiser lock magnate knew Nixon
LOS ANGELES–Fred J. Russell, a businessman who transformed a bankrupt foundry into a leading seller of residential locks and who served in the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon, died Jan. 9 in Los Angeles from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 90.
Johnny, 44: Forager, free spirit, chess man
Catherine Dunphy
Johnny, they hardly knew ya. But how they loved you, these men and women who make the Salvation Army's Gateway drop-in centre their second – some of them might say first – home.
A home full of stuff to treasure
Michele Henry
She was the ultimate collector.
Percy Saltzman, 91: Weatherman had signature chalk-toss
Percy Saltzman, the first man to appear on Canadian English-language television and the first meteorologist employed by the CBC, died Monday at the age of 91.
Kelly Silverstein, 42: A full life's worth of big-hearted giving
Catherine Dunphy
People usually have only nice things to say about the departed – some of which might even be true – but with Kelly Silverstein people always had only nice things to say about him.
Olive Navis, 89: Used bookseller was a friend to customers
Catherine Dunphy
One of the bonuses of living in a big city is the small bookstore.
Jack Palance, 87: Menacing actor
Jack Palance, the craggy-faced menace in Shane, Sudden Fear and other films who turned to comedy at 70 with his Oscar-winning self-parody in City Slickers, died Nov. 10. He was 87.
Kay Riddell Rouillard, 99: A lifelong friend of the underdog
Catherine Dunphy
Kay Riddell Rouillard's life lasted a long time — more than 99 years — and cut a wide swath through seemingly disparate strata of society. She was a church minister's daughter, a United Nations diplomat's wife as well as the heart and energy source of what became U of T's International Student Centre.
Wilma Paul, 71: Scooter activist
Jack Lakey
Wilma Paul was frightened that her motorized scooter would tip over some day, and she had good reason to be afraid, the Star's Jack Lakey writes.
Gino Nangini, 70: Taught Italian
Tamara Cherry
Gino Nangini's undertaking in the basement of St. Mary of the Angels Church in 1961 brought no financial reward, but the newly landed immigrant saw a need and he filled it. In order to maintain the integrity of his native tongue, he began teaching the Italian language to children of Italian descent. The Star's Tamara Cherry tells you more.
David Simpson, 53: Could've been a Jeopardy contender
Catherine Dunphy
David Simpson played games. Seven-hour games. Games that recreated famous battles such as Waterloo or that recreated the history of the world, or that involved aerial and naval strategies or both, and, especially, his beloved railways. Oh, and then there was Jeopardy. Catherine Dunphy reports.
Georgina Steinsky-Sehnoutka, 83: Poet loved her homeland
Meghan Waters
Georgina Steinsky-Sehnoutka fled communist-controlled Czechoslovakia as a young woman, but her children say she never stopped lamenting her lost homeland.
Derek Sawyer, 63: Exalted bell-ringer
Catherine Dunphy
Derek Sawyer was Toronto's lord of the rings, the man who brought North America's first — and so far only — set of 12 glorious change bells to the tower of St. James' Cathedral, writes Catherine Dunphy.
Mickey Spillane, 88: Master of the gumshoe
BRUCE SMITH
CHARLESTON, S.C.—Mickey Spillane, the macho mystery writer who wowed millions of readers with the shoot-'em-up sex and violence of gumshoe Mike Hammer, died yesterday. He was 88.
Jean Shek, 86: Choir's 'guiding light'
Catherine Dunphy
Jean Shek was officially a former co-chair of the Toronto Jewish Folk Choir; unofficially she was its glue. Last week they sang for her, because she was everything to them, reports Obituary writer Catherine Dunphy.
Lorne Saxberg, 48: Veteran CBC anchor
Veteran CBC news anchor Lorne Saxberg has died in a snorkelling accident while on vacation in Phuket, Thailand, CBC News reported on its website.
Bert Oldershaw, 84: Olympic paddler
Daniel Nolan
Bert Oldershaw, founder of the Mississauga Canoe Club and a finalist in the 1948 Olympic Games in London, the 1952 Games in Helsinki and the 1956 Games in Melbourne, has died at age 84.
Dr. Joyce Nsubuga, 59: Met Uganda's needs
Catherine Dunphy
Dr. Joyce Nsubuga loved Canada. It gave her safety from a regime that had killed her first husband. But coming here also cost her a promising career. That didn't stop her, Catherine Dunphy writes.
Bernard Ostry, 78: Head of TVOntario
John Goddard
Bernard Ostry, one of the most creative public servants of his generation, died of cancer May 24 at 78.
Floyd Patterson, 71: Heavyweight champion of the world
Floyd Patterson (above, right), who came back from an embarrassing loss to become the first boxer to regain the heavyweight title of the world, died Thursday, May 11. He was 71.
Louis Rukeyser, 73: Financial expert
Louis Rukeyser, a best-selling author, columnist, lecturer and television host who delivered pun-filled, commonsense commentary on complicated business and economic news, has died. He was 73.
Mike Spironello touched many lives
Heba Aly
Every Wednesday, in a basement gym on King St. W., Mike Spironello's legs pedalled furiously to the DJ's beats. He taught three, hour-long classes in a row to a following of spinners — old and young, timid and overweight.
Gene Pitney, 65: Singer had string of hits
By ROBERT BARR
Gene Pitney, whose keening tenor voice produced a string of hits including "Town Without Pity" was found dead in his hotel room in Wales Wednesday, April 5, following a concert that fans acclaimed as one of his best. He was 65.
Red Storey, 88: Hall-of-fame referee
Grey Cup winner and hall of fame hockey referee Red Storey has died. He was 88.
Maureen Stapleton, 80: Earned rare grand slam of acting
Jim Bawden
Maureen Stapleton was sitting quietly in her mobile dressing room on the set of the TV miniseries Little Gloria, Happy At Last (1982). The shoot was at the McLaughlin Estate in Oshawa, made to look like the Vanderbilt home in Newport, R.I.
Kirby Puckett, 45: Hall of Fame baseball player
Kirby Puckett didn't need much time to make a big impact. Those who felt it, near and far, can only wish he had stayed around longer.
Dana Reeve, 44: Heroic widow of fallen 'Superman' star
Dana Reeve, who won worldwide admiration for her devotion to her "Superman" husband, Christopher Reeve, through his decade of near-total paralysis, has died of lung cancer at the age of 44.
Jackie Shepherd, 73: A friend to the average family
Mike Funston
Jackie Shepherd never backed down from a fight, whether it was against slum landlords, political heavyweights or big supermarkets gouging consumers.
Rosa Parks, 92: Civil rights hero
E.R. Shipp
Rosa Parks, a black seamstress whose refusal to relinquish her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Ala., almost 50 years ago grew into a mythic event that helped touch off the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, died Oct. 25. She was 92 years old.
William Rehnquist, 80: Chief Justice of the United States
Gina Holland
WASHINGTON—Many Americans wouldn't have recognized William Rehnquist if they saw him on the street. But his decisions shaped the way most of them live. In more than 33 years on the U.S. Supreme Court, the conservative Rehnquist, 80, who died Saturday, Sept. 17, voted in hundreds of cases dealing with abortion rights, religion, affirmative action, free speech, age discrimination, immigrant deportations and police powers.
Heather Joy Skelton, 60: Last lesson was letting go
Catherine Dunphy
She was always trailblazing. One of the first women in IBM's marketing department, she was also one of the first to go out on her own to advise other women about making money and investments according to their personalities, lifestyles and beliefs. Catherine Dunphy memorializes Heather Joy Skelton, the founder of the Omega Centre.
Ann Szedlecki, 79: 'Nobody's daughter' spoke up
Catherine Dunphy
Ann Szedlecki lost her entire family to the Holocaust and was imprisoned as a teen in a Soviet gulag. After coming to Canada and discovering her storyteller's voice in a creative writing class, she became a powerful speaker and teacher. Catherine Dunphy memorializes her.
Dr. Douglas Salmon, 81: Surgeon, scholar
Philip Mascoll
Dr. John Douglas Graham Roy Salmon was a kind and wonderful person who had to struggle for everything he achieved, his family and friends say. Salmon, who died Wednesday, Sept. 21, at age 81, wasn't only the first black surgeon in Canada. He was an accomplished pianist, scholar, athlete and sculptor as well. Philip Mascoll reports.
Ernest Alva (Smokey) Smith, 91: The last Canadian hero
Stephen Thorne
Hordes of German troops couldn't take him, but time finally did. Ernest Alva (Smokey) Smith, Canada's last winner of the Victoria Cross, has died at his home in Vancouver. He was 91. Born in New Westminster, B.C., on May 3, 1914, Smith was a joyful man with an impish smile who savoured a good cigar, a well-aged scotch and the attentions of ladies the world over.
Dr. Ian Nakamura, 44: A doctor who made housecalls
Catherine Dunphy
Dr. Ian Nakamura was a devoted family physician who made house calls a daily habit, often starting his rounds by 7 a.m. and finishing long past 6 p.m. He also had a hole in his heart and despite urgings to slow down, he maintained his pace. Catherine Dunphy reports.
Kay Snelgrove, 84: Intrepid spy and courier
Catherine Dunphy
Every family has its secrets. And had the 1976 bestseller A Man Called Intrepid, not been written, Kay Snelgrove's family might never have learned of hers. In the early years of World War II, she helped deliver messages between British and American officials, crossing the border in New Brunswick as a student studying in Boston. Catherine Dunphy explains.
Bernie Share, 74: Kitsch king of Queen St.
Catherine Dunphy
Bernie Share's funeral on April 17 was fit for the king he was. His partner, Susan, moved some of his favourite things — Iranian carpets, the carved ornamental side tables, the bobble-headed hula dolls, the jelly mould in the shape of a naked female torso and five of the 40-plus cowboy hats he owned into four rooms of the Bates & Dodds funeral home. Catherine Dunphy reports.
Prince Rainier III, 81: Beloved monarch transformed Monaco
Thierry Boinet
MONACO - Prince Rainier, who reshaped Monaco and worked to overcome its reputation as "a sunny place for shady people," died today, leaving the throne to his son, Prince Albert.
Pope John Paul II, 84: A shepherd for the ages
Born on May 18, 1920, to a family of modest means in Wadowice, near Krakow, Karol Wojtyla was destined for a towering role in the tumultuous closing years of the 20th century. Leslie Scrivener discusses Pope John Paul II's complex legacy.
Robin Spry, 65: Filmed October Crisis of 1970
LuAnn LaSalle
MONTREAL - Canadian filmmaker Robin Spry, known for his portrayal of the 1970 October Crisis, touched the spectrum of his industry as a documentary maker, director, writer and producer in film and television.
Gordon Roper, 93: Prof. helped bring CanLit to world
Catherine Dunphy
Gathered around Mollie Cartmell's kitchen table in Peterborough are the chair, associate chair and past chair of Trent University's department of English, talking about the man who has meant the world to them and who helped bring the world the study and appreciation of Canadian literature. Catherine Dunphy memorializes Prof. Gordon Roper.
Bobby Short, 80: Saloon singer epitomized style
NEW YORK — Cabaret singer Bobby Short, the tuxedoed embodiment of New York style and sophistication who was a fixture at his piano in the Carlyle Hotel for more than 35 years, died Monday. He was 80.