Acerbic and sometimes controversial, he became familiar to millions as the show’s “Weekend Update” anchor from 1994 to 1998. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Deaths (Obituaries)”
Phil Schaap, Grammy-Winning Jazz D.J. and Historian, Dies at 70
By Gotham Rex on September 8, 2021
His radio programs, most notably on Columbia University’s WKCR, were full of minutiae he had accumulated during a lifetime immersed in the genre. Source: New York Times
Joseph I. Kramer, the ‘Country Doctor’ of Avenue D, Dies at 96
By Gotham Rex on September 8, 2021
Shunning the New Jersey suburbs in 1969, he set up a pay-what-you-can practice on the blighted Lower East Side and for three decades was a hero to the poor. Source: New York Times
Alberto Vilar, Arts Patron Convicted of Fraud, Dies at 80
By Gotham Rex on September 8, 2021
An opera fan, he used the riches from his investment business to fuel a spending spree at opera companies and other cultural organizations. But many of his pledges went unfulfilled. Source: New York Times
Michael K. Williams, Omar From 'The Wire,' Is Dead at 54
By Gotham Rex on September 6, 2021
Mr. Williams, who also starred in “Boardwalk Empire” and “Lovecraft Country,” was best known for his role as Omar Little in the David Simon HBO series. Source: New York Times
Bob Diamond, the ‘Tunnel King’ of Brooklyn, Dies at 61
By Gotham Rex on August 28, 2021
First he discovered a long-forgotten rail tunnel. Then he spent decades trying — in vain — to revive Brooklyn’s trolley system. Source: New York Times
Micki Grant, Groundbreaking Broadway Composer, Dies at 92
By Gotham Rex on August 25, 2021
With “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope,” she became the first woman to write the book, music and lyrics of a Broadway musical. Source: New York Times
Stanley Aronowitz, Labor Scholar and Activist, Dies at 88
By Gotham Rex on August 21, 2021
As a self-described “working-class intellectual,” he declared that direct action was more potent than collective bargaining or conventional politics. Source: New York Times
Overlooked No More: Hettie Anderson, Sculptors’ Model Who Evaded Fame
By Gotham Rex on August 12, 2021
Her image has been rendered on gold coins and monuments around the United States. But little is known about this Gilded Age model. Source: New York Times
Nach Waxman, Founder of a Bookstore Where Foodies Flock, Dies at 84
By Gotham Rex on August 7, 2021
A “kitchen anthropologist,” he created a mecca in Manhattan for chefs, writers, scholars, everyday cooks and anyone else who is, well, hungry for culinary knowledge. Source: New York Times
Ilona Royce Smithkin, Improbable Muse in Fashion and Art, Dies at 101
By Gotham Rex on August 7, 2021
After a troubling youth and a career teaching art, she sashayed into the roles of movie actress, cabaret singer, fashion model and artists’ mentor. Source: New York Times
Ilona Royce Smithkin, a Muse in Fashion and Art, Dies at 101
By Gotham Rex on August 7, 2021
After a troubling youth and a career teaching art, she sashayed into the roles of movie actress, cabaret singer, fashion model and artists’ mentor. Source: New York Times
Lynn C. Franklin, Literary Agent and Memoirist on Adoption, Dies at 74
By Gotham Rex on August 2, 2021
She represented Desmond Tutu and Deepak Chopra, but the book closest to her was the one she wrote about giving up her baby and then reuniting with him. Source: New York Times
George Forss, 80, Photographer Discovered on the Street, Dies
By Gotham Rex on August 2, 2021
He was peddling his black-and-white photos of New York City’s majesty for $5 each in the 1980s — until a famous photographer came upon them in “astonishment.” Source: New York Times
George Rhoads, Designer of Fantastical ‘Ball Machines,’ Dies at 95
By Gotham Rex on July 28, 2021
In his ingeniously conceived sculptures, balls seem to travel randomly and trigger various sounds. “Each pathway that the ball takes,” he said, “is a different drama.” Source: New York Times