Widely considered to have the best eye for talent in Hollywood, he shared the best-picture Oscar with Francis Ford Coppola for “The Godfather Part II.”
Category: Deaths (Obituaries)
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Morgan Spurlock, Documentarian Known for ‘Super Size Me,’ Dies at 53
His 2004 film, which was nominated for an Oscar, followed Mr. Spurlock as he ate nothing but McDonald’s for a month.
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Shirley Conran, Author Best Known for the Steamy ‘Lace,’ Dies at 91
A divorced single mother, she started out to write a sex guide for schoolgirls and ended up with a tale of female autonomy that became a best-selling novel.
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Frank Shrontz, 92, Dies; Led Boeing in the Last of Its Golden Years
Known for his leadership and his commitment to company culture, he left as chief executive in 1996, opening the door to a corporate makeover.
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C. Gordon Bell, Creator of a Personal Computer Prototype, Dies at 89
It cost $18,000 when it was introduced in 1965, but it bridged the world between room-size mainframes and the modern desktop.
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David Redden, Who Brought Ingenuity to the Auction Block, Dies at 75
He brought a P.T. Barnum-like showmanship to Sotheby’s, where he sold items like Babe Ruth’s bat and a research rover that had been left behind on the moon.
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Ivan F. Boesky, Rogue Trader in 1980s Wall Street Scandal, Dies at 87
An inspiration for the Gordon Gekko character in the movie “Wall Street,” he made a fortune from insider trading before his downfall brought a crashing end to a decade of greed.
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James Greenfield, Globe-Trotting Reporter and Times Editor, Dies at 99
He wrote about world affairs for Time magazine and worked at the State Department before becoming a senior editor at The New York Times in 1967.
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Bruce Nordstrom, Who Helped Lead His Family’s Retail Empire, Dies at 90
Though he was the company’s president, he opted for joint leadership with family members as they turned a string of shoe stores into an international fashion brand.
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Phil Wiggins, Virtuoso of the Blues Harmonica, Dies at 69
First as half of the duo Cephas and Wiggins and later on his own, he was one of the best-known musicians playing the style known as the Piedmont blues.
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Dabney Coleman, Actor Audiences Loved to Hate, Is Dead at 92
In movies like “9 to 5” and “Tootsie” and on TV shows like “Buffalo Bill,” he turned the portrayal of egomaniacal louts into a fine art.
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Robert Dennard, IBM Inventor Whose Chip Changed Computing, Dies at 91
He invented DRAM, the technology that allowed for the faster and higher-capacity memory storage that is the basis for modern computing.