The Blog of Death

Mitsuru Hanada

Mitsuru Hanada, a famed sumo stablemaster who was once known as the "Prince of Sumo" in Japan, died on May 30 of oral cancer. He was 55.

Hanada's family is one of the sport's most powerful dynasties. He trained under his eldest brother, Katsuji, a grand champion who fought under the name Wakanohana, and fathered two sumo-wrestling champions, former yokozunas Takanohana and the second Wakanohana.

Hanada entered his brother's stable and made his professional debut in 1965. He was only 18 when he reached the Makuuchi Division, sumo's elite rank. An immensely popular fighter, Hanada attained the second-highest rank of ozeki despite weighing 243 pounds. Although he was considered a sumo lightweight, the handsome and stylish Hanada spent 16 years in the ring and fought a record 50 consecutive tournaments as ozeki under the name Takanohana.

Hanada won two Emperor's Cups before retiring in 1981 with a career record of 726 wins, 490 losses and 58 withdrawals. He spent his later years running the Futagoyama stable and working as the director of the Japan Sumo Association. In 2004, Hanada handed over control of the stable to his eldest son, who changed its name to the Takanohana Stable.

Marking Memorial Day

As of today, 1,836 coalition troops have died in the war in Iraq. That statistic breaks down into 1,656 Americans, 89 Britons, 10 Bulgarians, one Dane, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Hungarian, 21 Italians, one Kazakh, one Latvian, 17 Poles, one Salvadoran, three Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians.

The Blog of Death does not have the manpower to cover these losses on a daily basis. However, since this is Memorial Day, we take a moment to honor the sacrifices of all servicemen and women and send comforting thoughts to their families and friends.

• Faces of the Fallen
• Forces: U.S. & Coalition/Casualties
• A Look at the First 1,000 Who Died
• Search for War Casualties
• Memorial Day Coverage From NPR

E. Harris Nober

E. Harris Nober, an educator whose study of smoke detectors helped save countless lives, died on May 23 of liver cancer. He was 77.

After serving in the Coast Guard for two years, Nober earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Brooklyn College and a doctorate in experimental psychology from Ohio State University. From 1969 to 1998, he taught communications disorders at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Nober always had an interest in how people reacted to sounds and spent the early part of his career working in a hospital as a speech-language pathologist. Then in 1978, he began researching how loud a fire alarm should be and how long it would take a family to react to its call.

Nober's study, which was funded by what is now the National Institute of Standards and Technology, involved installing smoke detectors in 80 area homes. After waiting for several weeks, he used a remote control to test the alarms. Nober then examined the response times of people who slept behind closed doors, those who had drunk alcohol the night before, parents of newborns and the elderly. On average, it took three minutes for people to wake up, call the fire department and leave their house.

Using this data, Nober was able to find the perfect sound level required to awaken even the deepest of sleepers. His work set the standard noise level for most of the smoke alarms on the market today. He also designed smoke detectors for the deaf that utilized flashing strobe lights and vibration mechanisms.

Nober co-edited the 1997 textbook, "Introduction to Communication Disorders: A Multicultural Approach," with Charlena Seymour, and received the Career Award in Hearing from the American Association of Audiology. He was a fellow and charter member of the American Academy of Audiology and a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Paul Tate

Paul Tate, a former Army intelligence officer whose daughter was murdered by the followers of Charles Manson, died on May 18 of congestive heart failure. He was 82.

Actress Sharon Tate was married to director Roman Polanski and eight months pregnant on Aug. 9, 1969 when she and four others (Abigail Folger, Voytek Frykowski, Jay Sebring and Stephen Parent) were killed inside a house she sublet from producer/songwriter Terry Melcher. Manson ordered some of his followers to break into 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles and kill everyone inside.

The high profile case became the focus Paul Tate's life. The former Army intelligence officer, who spent 23 years in the service, retired as a lieutenant colonel soon after his daughter's death and launched his own investigation into the slayings. He even went undercover, masquerading as a hippie for four months to come up with leads in the case, but found nothing the police could use in court. Authorities continued their own investigation and arrested Manson on Oct. 12, 1969.

Tate was the first witness called to testify at the trial. Before entering the courtroom, however, he was thoroughly searched because the bailiffs were concerned he'd sneak in a weapon and kill the defendants. Manson was later convicted of masterminding the murders. His followers -- Susan Atkins, Charles "Tex" Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten -- were convicted of perpetrating them.

Tate's quest for justice continued until his death. The Texas native and his wife Doris wrote numerous letters to California parole officials that argued against the release of the Manson "family." In later years, Doris became a victim's right advocate. She was the first member of a victim's family to ever speak out at a parole hearing and make a victim's impact statement in the state of California. When she died in 1992, their other daughters, Patti and Debra, took over the task of keeping Manson's followers behind bars. Patti died in 2000.

Bill Brownell

Bill B. Brownell devoted his entire life to fighting crime.

The Iowa native moved to California with his family when he was 11 years old. After serving four years in the Navy, Brownell became a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A back injury sustained on the job caused him to retire from the force in 1968, but the desire to uphold the law and serve the public never waned.

In 1971, Brownell heard his teenagers discuss how easy it was for their friends to buy drugs. He asked why they didn't notify authorities, and his children said they didn't want to become known as snitches. Brownell and his wife Miriam recognized this was a genuine fear and responded to it by founding the WeTip crime hotline (800-78-CRIME), a service that allows people to anonymously report crimes or criminals. The Brownells incorporated the service in 1972 and expanded it nationally a decade later. In recent years, they launched two more tiplines (800-47-ARSON and 800-US-FRAUD) and a Website.

When a concerned citizen calls WeTip and tries to leave their name, the connection is terminated because only the unidentified can avoid being subpoenaed to testify in court. WeTip doesn't use caller ID or cookies to identify tipsters; it assigns code names and numbers in case a reward is offered.

Since the service debuted 34 years ago, more than 420,000 tips have been called in. Information gleaned from the WeTip hotlines have led to 14,558 arrests and 7,387 convictions. More than $500,000 has also been awarded to people who called in with useful information.

Brownell died on May 13 of congestive heart failure. He was 71.

• Listen to an Interview With Bill and Miriam Brownell

Ismail Merchant

Ismail Noormohamed Abdul Rehman Merchant, a Hollywood producer and director whose period films won six Academy Awards, died on May 25. Cause of death was not released. He was 68.

Born in Bombay, India, Merchant moved to the United States in 1958 and became a messenger for the United Nations. After earning a master's degree in business administration at New York University, he directed and co-produced the 14-minute short, "The Creation of Woman." The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1961 and accepted into the Cannes Film Festival. That same year, Merchant met American painter/filmmaker James Ivory. A romantic and professional relationship quickly blossomed, one that led to the formation of Merchant Ivory Productions.

Their collaboration began with the feature length film, "The Householder," which was based on a novel and screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Over the next four decades, they made more than 40 movies, including "A Room With a View," "The Remains of the Day," "Howards End," "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge" and "Jefferson in Paris." Merchant usually worked as a producer while Ivory directed, however, it was not uncommon for them to switch duties. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, theirs is the longest partnership in independent cinema.

In recent years, Merchant and Ivory departed from the costume dramas that made them famous and began developing more contemporary pictures. They produced the 2003 farce "Le Divorce," starring Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts, and recently wrapped "The Goddess," a musical about the Hindu goddess Shakti starring Tina Turner. Their final period piece, "The White Countess," which stars Ralph Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave and Natasha Richardson, is currently in production.

Merchant also had a passion for fine cuisine. An accomplished chef, he opened a restaurant in 1993 and wrote several cookbooks ("Passionate Meals: The New Indian Cuisine for Fearless Cooks and Adventurous Eaters," "Ismail Merchant's Indian Cuisine," "Ismail Merchant's Florence: Filming and Feasting in Tuscany," "Ismail Merchant's Passionate Meals: The New Indian Cuisine for Fearless Cooks and Adventurous Eaters" and "Ismail Merchant's Paris: Filming and Feasting in France With 40 Recipes"). His autobiography, "My Passage From India: A Filmmaker's Journey From Bombay to Hollywood," was published in 2002.

• Listen to an Interview With NPR

Frank Gorshin

Frank Gorshin, a veteran actor and impressionist who was best known for playing the Riddler on the 1960s TV series "Batman," died on May 17 of cancer. He was 72.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Gorshin was the son of Yugoslavian immigrants. One of three children, he worked as an usher at a local theatre in his teens and won his first talent contest singing Al Jolson songs. The prize: Opening for Alan King at Jackie Heller's Carousel nightclub. Two days before he was meant to go on, Gorshin's brother died in a car accident. His parents insisted he honor his performance commitment, however, and in between shows Gorshin spent time with his family at the funeral parlor. The gig gave him his start in show business.

Gorshin attended the Carnegie Tech School of Drama and performed in area nightclubs. After serving in the U.S. Army as an entertainer during the Korean War, he moved to Hollywood and found steady work as a comedian and bit player in films. Gorshin's big break came in 1956 when he landed a job impersonating stars like James Cagney, Jackie Gleason, Marlon Brando, Kirk Douglas, Alfred Hitchcock, Boris Karloff and Burt Lancaster on "The Steve Allen Show." In 1964, he performed on the same "Ed Sullivan Show" that featured the American television debut of The Beatles.

Over the next three decades, Gorshin appeared in more than 80 films, including "That Darn Cat!" "The Great Imposter" and "12 Monkeys." He acted in two soap operas ("The Edge of Night," "General Hospital"), and did voice work for cartoons (Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck) and video games ("Diablo II").

Although he was known as "the man with 100 faces," Gorshin found enduring fame playing the Riddler on the hit TV show, "Batman." Wearing an emerald green skin-tight costume covered in question marks, he turned the character into a favorite arch nemesis for Gotham City's Caped Crusader. In his spare time, Gorshin headlined shows at the MGM Grand, The Sahara and The Aladdin in Las Vegas.

He made his Broadway debut in 1969 as the star of the musical "Jimmy." Then in 2002, Gorshin portrayed George Burns in the acclaimed, one-man production of "Say Goodnight Gracie." He used no prosthetics, and only a small amount of make-up, to play the late comedian.

Gorshin received two Emmy nominations during his career for playing Adam West's foil on "Batman," and Commissioner Bele on the original "Star Trek" series. Ironically, one of his final performances was playing himself in a guest appearance on the CBS drama, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

• Listen to a Sound Clip From "Batman"

Tony

Tony, one of the oldest animals at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, died on May 17. Cause of death was not released. He was 44.

Born in a Mississippi zoo, Tony was three years old when he moved to Louisiana. In general, hippos live up to 45 years in the wild and a few years longer in captivity. An African hippo, Tony spent most of his days submerged in water to keep cool and support his large body.

Tony lived with his mate, Rosebud, for 16 years. She died in 1989 at the age of 19 after giving birth to a female hippo named Duffy. The baby died six days later because she refused to eat after her mother died. Zoo officials tried to force feed Duffy under anesthesia, but to no avail.

Tony was the only remaining hippopotamus at the zoo.

One Final Hiatus

The Blog of Death will be on hiatus until May 23rd while I move into my new apartment and get the cable modem installed. After that, the site will return to its daily schedule of obituaries. Feel free to post tributes and e-mail submissions in my absence. Thanks for understanding.
--Jade Walker

Bill Rashbaum

Dr. William Kohlmann Rashbaum, a Manhattan gynecologist and obstetrician who founded one of the first fetal tissue banks in the United States, died on May 2 from complications of lung cancer. He was 78.

Rashbaum was a third-generation physician. The New York native earned his bachelor's degree and medical degree from New York University, then joined his father's OB/GYN practice in Manhattan. In the 1950s and 1960s, he treated dozens of women suffering complications from illegal abortions. These experiences affected Rashbaum so strongly that when New York state legalized abortion in 1970, he decided to offer the procedure as a safe way for women to end their unwanted pregnancies.

Despite the controversial nature of his work, Rashbaum never wavered from his duty to help women get pregnant, avoid pregnancy, have a baby or rid themselves of one. A staunch advocate of a woman's right to choose, he was one of the few doctors in America who would perform a second-trimester abortion when one was required.

Rashbaum also established one of the first licensed fetal tissue banks in the country. There his staff collected pancreases for research and used the organs to find cures for diseases. In his spare time, Rashbaum taught obstetrics and gynecology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Rashbaum was an attending physician and the former chief of planning services at Beth Israel Medical Center, and a founder of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health. In 1999, he was honored by the New York Civil Liberties Union for supporting women's reproductive rights.

Bob Hunter

Robert Hunter, a founding member of Greenpeace, died on May 2 of prostate cancer. He was 64.

The Manitoba native wasn't an apt pupil in school. Instead of doing his homework, he would draw or write novels. Hunter's interest in more creative pursuits led him to drop out of high school and join the media. In the 1960s, he worked as a reporter for the Winnipeg Tribune, then became a popular counter-culture columnist for the Vancouver Sun.

Hunter always had an interest in environmental issues, but it wasn't until 1971 that he switched from observer to activist mode. That year, he and a group of 11 friends sailed an 80-foot fishing boat from Vancouver to Alaska in an effort to stop the American military from conducting nuclear weapons testing on Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands. Their demonstration led to the cancellation of the testing program and the island's transformation into a wildlife sanctuary.

In 1972, the crew joined forces again to form Greenpeace, an international environmental movement with more than 2.8 million members. As the organization's first president, Hunter helped turn Greenpeace into the most powerful environmental lobby in the world. He dyed the white coats of baby harp seals to make them commercially worthless, stood between Russian harpoon hunters and their whale prey and coined the terms "eco-warrior" and "media mind bomb." Time magazine even named him one of the 10 "eco-heroes" of the 20th century.

Hunter returned to journalism in the late 1980s as an ecology reporter for City TV. He hosted the popular morning show "Papercuts" in his bathrobe, and entertained audiences by reading newspaper headlines and commenting on the stories. Hunter also wrote more than a dozen books, penned scripts for the syndicated TV series "The Beachcombers," and made several documentaries, including one about his fight with prostate cancer. For his environmental and journalistic efforts, Hunter won five Western Magazine Awards, a CanPro Award and the Canadian Environmental Award.

• Listen to an Interview With the CBC

Jack Delmage

John Houston Delmage, a war hero who had to wait more than five decades to receive his medals, died on April 10. Cause of death was not released. He was 86.

Born in Manitoba, Canada, Delmage was just a child when his family relocated to Indiana. Four years after graduating from high school, he wed Bette Wilson Delmage and enlisted in the service. During World War II, Delmage served as an Army paratrooper with the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion.

Fighting in Europe was difficult and harrowing. Of the 839 men from his unit who went into the Battle of the Bulge, only 110 survived. Delmage was wounded in the battle and later struggled with the horror of killing an enemy soldier and then finding a picture of the German's wife and child on the body. When he returned to Indiana, Delmage raised a family and spent the next 47 years working as a crane operator in the steel industry.

Delmage never talked about his time in the service, and he didn't received any recognition for the injuries he suffered or the bravery he exhibited. Then in 2002, his niece, Rhonda Delmage Nelson, took it upon herself to find out if Delmage deserved to be honored for his actions.

Although his brothers-in-arms thought he was killed in the war, and the Army lost his paperwork, the United States eventually awarded Delmage two Purple Hearts, four Bronze Stars and two Presidential Unit Citations. He also received letters from President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, three former presidents, a congressman, two U.S. senators and former California Gov. Gray Davis.