Free Republic

Betty Fordhas died at the age of 93.

"NEW YORK—Clarence Clemons, the larger-than-life saxophone player for the E Street Band who was one of the key influences in Bruce Springsteen's life and music through four decades, has died. He was 69. Springsteen acknowledged the dire situation earlier this week, but said then he was hopeful. He called the loss "immeasurable." "We are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly 40 years," Springsteen said on his website. "He was my great friend, my partner and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a...

Leonard B. Stern, an Emmy-winning writer, producer and director for television whose frantic search for an adjective one day led him and a colleague to create Mad Libs, the game that asks players to fill in blanks with designated parts of speech to yield comically ________[adj.] stories, died on Tuesday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 88.

WASHINGTON – John R. Alison, a World War II fighter pilot who helped lead a daring and unprecedented Allied air invasion of Burma, has died, a son said Wednesday. The retired Air Force major general and former Northrop Corp. executive died of natural causes Monday at his home in Washington, John R. Alison III said. Alison's wartime achievements included seven victories, six in the air, qualifying him as an ace, .. Alison was chosen in 1943 by Army Air Forces commander Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold for a top-secret mission that flew more than 9,000 troops, nearly 1,300 mules and 250...

~ EXCERPT ~ Friends and former colleagues say Lawrence S. Eagleburger, the only career foreign service officer to rise to the position of secretary of state, has died. Word of Eagleburger's death Saturday came from representatives of former President George H.W. Bush and former Secretary of State James Baker. No other details were immediately available. Eagleburger, who was 80, was a straightforward diplomat whose exuberant style masked a hard-driving commitment to solving foreign policy problems.

Lawrence S. Eagleburger, who briefly served as secretary of state for President George H.W. Bush, died Saturday at the age of 80. Eagleburger died in Charlottesville, Va., after a short illness, according to a family friend, Christy Reap.Few other details were immediately available.

Former state treasurer Matt Fong has died. Fong was 57 years old. His wife Paula told the Associated Press that he died in their Pasadena home Wednesday morning after losing a battle with skin cancer. Fong, a Republican, held the state office from 1995 to 1998. He also served as Vice Chairman of the California State Board of Equalization and was a 1998 Republican nominee for the United States Senate. Fong was born in Alameda. He was the son of former Democratic California Secretary of State March Fong Eu. March Fong Eu held that officer for 20 years and was...

Former Texas Gov. William "Bill" Clements Jr., who broke the Democratic Party's century-long hold on the Governor's Mansion with his election 33 years ago, died Sunday. He was 94, had suffered a stroke and had been ill for some time. A brusque and colorful Dallas oilman, Clements shocked the political establishment by beating Democrat John Hill Jr. in the 1978 gubernatorial election. Hill, then the attorney general, had unseated Gov. Dolph Briscoe in the Democratic primary, and Capitol power players — as overwhelmingly Democratic then as they are Republican now — assumed the race was over. Clements, spending freely from...

Jeff Conaway, the troubled actor of "Taxi" and "Grease" fame whose addiction problems were well chronicled for years by reality TV and the media, has died, reports the Los Angeles Times. He was 60. He was taken off life support Thursday (May 26) and died Friday in Encino, nine days after being put into a medically induced coma. Conaway's manager Phil Brock said the actor was found unconscious May 11 after an apparent overdose of painkillers. Reports said he might have been in that state for 10 hours before being found. Brock said the actor was suffering from pneumonia and...

LOS ANGELES – Norma Zimmer, the "Champagne Lady" of TV's "The Lawrence Welk Show" and a studio singer who worked with Frank Sinatra and other pop stars, has died. She was 87. Zimmer died peacefully Tuesday at her Brea, Calif., home, Welk's son, Larry, said Wednesday. Larry Welk didn't know the cause of death but said Zimmer had been living an active life in recent years. "She was one of the most gracious, likable people that anyone could ever meet. The other people on the show, to this day, just respect and love her," Larry Welk said.

(Reuters) - Actor Jackie Cooper, the former child star who enjoyed renewed fame years later as Daily Planet editor Perry White in the Christopher Reeve "Superman" movies, has died near Los Angeles, his attorney said on Wednesday. He was 88. Cooper died on Tuesday at a convalescent home in the coastal city of Santa Monica. "He just kinda died of old age," attorney Roger Licht told Reuters. "He wore out."

Longtime Democratic strategist Kam Kuwata, a mainstay of the California political scene for decades, was found dead today in his Venice condominium. He was 57. “I am greatly saddened by the passing of Kam Kuwata,” said Eric Bauman, Los Angeles County Democratic Party chairman. “Today, we lost a dear friend and a top Democratic political mind whose influential behind-the-scenes work had touched California and American politics alike. Kuwata’s work extends nearly 30 years in campaign strategic planning, communications and messaging. He served in many key roles for major and local Democratic campaigns including: U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, Daniel Akaka and...

It was typical of Sheila Lawrence that she didn't take her leave of Monticello until after her beloved trumpeter swans, nurtured and fattened all winter long on the Mississippi River below her house, were on their way north once again. Lawrence, 65, died Saturday after an eight-month battle with cancer. She left a legacy for her river town in the large graceful birds that now winter there, thanks to the "Swan Lady" who fed them for more than 20 years. "Maybe she was the bird whisperer. Some people have it," said her husband, Jim, who took over the feeding for...

KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- Harry Wesley Coover Jr., known as the inventor of Super Glue, has died at his home in Kingsport, Tenn. He was 94. Coover was working for Tennessee Eastman Company when an accident resulted in Super Glue, according to his grandson, Adam Paul of South Carolina.

Lt. Col Hugh Daley

Len Lesser, the veteran character actor best known for his scene-stealing role as Uncle Leo on "Seinfeld," has died. He was 88. Lesser's family said in a statement that he died Wednesday in Burbank, Calif., from cancer-related pneumonia. .. list of television credits included parts on "Get Smart,""That Girl,""The Munsters,""The Monkees,""The Rockford Files,""thirtysomething,""ER," and "Everybody Loves Raymond," .. film credits included "Outlaw Josey Wales,""Kelly's Heroes,""Birdman of Alcatraz" and "Death Hunt." .. most recently .. TV drama "Castle."

(CBS) Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., or Sargent as he was better known, has died, CBS News confirmed Tuesday. Shriver had Alzheimer's disease. Shriver was perhaps the most accomplished man never elected to public office. His career in public service and civic leadership spanned the second half of the 20th century. A call from President Kennedy ignited that career. In 1961, Mr. Kennedy asked Shriver to launch a project called the Peace Corps. It only took him six months to get the program up and running. "They have to have an internal motivation, an internal conviction," Shriver said. Born in Maryland...

LOS ANGELES -- David Nelson, who starred on his parents' popular television show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," has died, a family spokesman said. He was 74.

Fred Foy, the radio announcer best-known for calling out "Hi-Yo, Silver!" in his passionate lead-in to "The Lone Ranger" radio program, died Wednesday at his home in Woburn, Mass., of natural causes. He was 89. His daughter, Nancy Foy, said her father began his career as an actor before landing the job as the announcer on "The Lone Ranger" show in 1948. ..

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Harvey Pekar's life was not an open book. It was an open comic book. Pekar chronicled his life and times in the acclaimed autobiographical comic book series, "American Splendor," portraying himself as a rumpled, depressed, obsessive-compulsive "flunky file clerk" engaged in a constant battle with loneliness and anxiety. Pekar, 70, was found dead shortly before 1 a.m. Monday by his wife, Joyce Brabner, in their Cleveland Heights home, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death. Pekar and Brabner wrote "Our Cancer Year,"...