Category: Deaths (Obituaries)

Monica Getz, Advocate for Divorce Court Reform, Dies at 90

Her troubled marriage to the jazz star Stan Getz led to a headline-making divorce case. The result of the trial gave her a cause to fight for.
C. Richard Kramlich, Early Investor in Silicon Valley, Dies at 89

He was among the first backers of Apple Computer and 3Com, earning windfalls, but it was his humaneness that distinguished him from other venture capitalists.
Susan Alcorn, Voyager on Pedal Steel Guitar, Dies at 71

With a daring avant-garde approach, she pushed the frontiers of an instrument best known for speaking with a down-home accent.
Paul Plishka, Prolific Soloist at the Met, Dies at 83

Known for his liquid bass tones and flawless diction, he appeared in 88 roles, many of them comic, over 1,672 performances at the Metropolitan Opera.
Gene Barge, R&B Saxophonist Who Played on Landmark Hits, Dies at 98

Known as Daddy G, he recorded with Jackie Wilson, Chuck Willis and others, but he was best known for the Gary U.S. Bonds smash “Quarter to Three.”
Samuel Butler, Lawyer Who Helped Create Corporate Giants, Dies at 94

Leading the elite Wall Street firm Cravath, he became a go-to adviser on mergers and acquisitions — “all the big deals that were going on in the ’80s and ’90s.”
Merle Louise Simon, a Sondheim Mainstay, Is Dead at 90

She originated roles in four of his Broadway musicals between 1959 and 1987, and won a Drama Desk Award for her performance in “Sweeney Todd.”
Phyllis Dalton, Oscar-Winning Costume Designer for Historical Epics, Dies at 99

A look back at some of her most celebrated works, including “Doctor Zhivago,” “The Princess Bride” and “Lawrence of Arabia.”
Barry Goldberg, Who Backed Dylan When He Went Electric, Dies at 83

He played keyboards with a host of rock luminaries, but perhaps his most memorable performance was as part of the band that shocked the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
Loretta Ford, ‘Mother’ of the Nurse Practitioner Field, Dies at 104

She transformed nursing by making it an area of clinical practice and research and recasting nurses as colleagues of doctors, not assistants.
Wolfgang Zwiener, Waiter Who Built a Steakhouse Empire, Dies at 85

After years of waiting tables at Peter Luger in Brooklyn, he opened Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in Manhattan, the first of 35 restaurants around the world.
Marianne Faithfull, Chanteuse of Survival, Is Dead at 78

A fresh-voiced pop star and Mick Jagger’s muse in the 1960s, she went on to experience more than her share of hard times before emerging triumphant.