Australian TV great Don Lane has died, age 75. In honour of his memory, a tribute — of sorts — from Paul Hogan.
Obits
Vogue photographer Irving Penn dies
Iconic American photographer Irving Penn, who blurred the lines between commercial and art photography and was known for his minimalist style, has died aged 92. He shot over 150 covers of Vogue magazine.
Vale Trading Post
After 43 years of flogging used cars, slightly soiled couches and KISS pinball machines, the Trading Post is folding its print edition, following a 70% drop in ads over the last two years. RIP.
Vale William Safire, champion of good grammar
Former New York Times journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner and Nixon speechwriter, William Safire, has died of cancer, age 79. The Times remembers his biting wit, cunning wordsmithery and passion for correct punctuation.
RIP Patrick Swayze, original Dirty Dancer
The leading man in two enormously popular romantic fantasies — one where he was the first-love fantasy, and one where he was the perfect-martyr fantasy — has died from pancreatic cancer, writes Linda Holmes.
Vale Norman Borlaug: he “saved more lives than any man in human history”
Scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug has passed away, age 95. His work to create a high-yield wheat crop helped double world food production between 1960 and 1990 and is credited with saving a billion people from starvation.
Vale Mr Percival
Pelican Mr Percival, who played a character of the same name in the classic Australian film adaption of Storm Boy, has passed away, age 33. Adelaide Zoo’s bird keeper shares some fond memories.
Deadlines: how far in advance do newspapers write obituaries?
When a public figure dies, newspapers always seem to be able to whip up a comprehensive tribute to the deceased by the next edition — and since the rise of online media, often within minutes. Just how prepared are they for celebrities to cark it? Slate investigates.
Vale Fred Benchley
The Brisbane Times pays tribute to its former columnist and former Australian Financial Review editor Fred Benchley, who died on Saturday, age 67.
Dominick Dunne, the great gossip, is dead
The pre-eminent voice of American celebrity’s inner word is dead. There has never been a greater gossip than Dunne, reflects Helen Razer.
Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick, the true story
The dreadful truth of that night is well-known among Kennedy staffers and his surviving family, writes Bob Ellis. Teddy was nowhere near the car when the accident occurred.
And so we farewell the lion of the Senate
Teddy Kennedy was the most Kennedy-esque of all his family. And it was because he never became president that he rose to greatness, argues Bernard Keane.
Vale Teddy, we may never see his like
So the lion of the Senate will roar no more — and any number of DC cocktail waitresses can breathe a little easier today.
PODCAST: Nancy Reagan on Ted Kennedy
The Reagans and the Kennedys. It seems an unlikely friendship but on the death of Ted Kennedy, former First Lady Nancy Reagan chats with her son Ron about the two families’ close relationship.
Chappaquiddick marked Ted Kennedy’s life
The incident at Chappaquiddick, in 1969 where a young woman drowned, severely impacted Ted Kennedy’s life, with the constant question ‘could he have saved her?’, writes Graeme Leech.
Vale Ted Kennedy
US Senator Ted Kennedy, the youngest member of the famous Kennedy political dynasty, has died fro brain cancer, age 77. The New Yorker pays tribute through its files.
Clock stops ticking for 60 Minutes creator
Another giant of American journalism has left this world, with the death of Don Hewitt, creator of 60 Minutes, overnight, at the age of 86.
Death of a hallowed South Korean democrat
Kim Dae-jung’s passing parallels the remarkable journey that South Korea has travelled since the Second World War.
How Kim Dae-Young delivered a democractic destiny
Former South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung has died, age 83. His commitment to democracy, even when others believed it incompatible with Asian values, was a great legacy not only to his country, but the entire continent, says The Wall Street Journal.
Friedman: Why I won’t miss Robert Novak
Journalist Robert Novak’s death will be mourned — widely and loudly — by most in the media fraternity. But not by Jon Friedman.
Vale Bob Novak: Prince of Darkness, pussycat
Conservative American columnist Bob Novak has died, age 78. Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift remembers a staunch ideological adversary, but a must-read journalist and friend.
Shot by both sides
Robert Novak may have been a giant of the American right, but his opposition to the war in Iraq made him as unpopular with many conservatives as he was with liberals.
Molly Ringwald pays tribute to John Hughes
Actress and ’80s movie icon Molly Ringwald has written a heart-felt tribute in the New York Times to recently deceased film writer and director John Hughes, who helped put her on the map in his films 16 Candles and The Breakfast Club.
