Robert Kardashian, an attorney who represented O.J. Simpson during his infamous murder trial, died on Sept. 30 from cancer of the esophagus. He was 59.
On June 16, 1994, Simpson spent the night at Kardashian’s home. In the morning, he was supposed to turn himself in to authorities and face charges of stabbing his wife, Nicole Brown, and waiter Ron Goldman, to death. Instead, Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings led police on a slow-speed chase that ended at Simpson’s Brentwood home. He was eventually arrested and charged with the killings.
Kardashian served as one of the attorneys on Simpson’s defense team, which won a “not guilty” verdict on Oct. 3, 1995. Simpson was found liable for the killings in a civil trial, and was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.
Kardashian later shared his doubts of Simpson’s innocence on the ABCNews show “20/20,” and in the book, “American Tragedy: The Uncensored Story of the Simpson Defense” by Lawrence Schiller and James Willwerth. The book was also adapted into a TV mini-series.
Kardashian graduated from the University of Southern California in 1962. He earned a law degree from the University of San Diego and practiced law for about a decade before leaving the field to work in business. He and Simpson were friends for over 25 years. They lived together in the 1970s and started Juice Inc., a corporation that owned and operated several frozen yogurt shops.
Matthew Jay
Categories: Musicians
Matthew Jay, a rising British singer/songwriter, died on Sept. 24 after falling out of a seventh-story window in London. He was 24.
“His act would appear to have been an impulsive gesture following a professionally difficult year and perhaps, a difficult day,” said a statement from his record company, EMI.
Raised by folk musicians, Jay joined the family band when he was a child and started writing his own songs at 15. He released the demo, “Four Songs,” in January 2000 and another CD titled, “Friendly Fire,” six months later. Both were supported by local appearances.
Jay was signed by EMI, and released his debut album, “Draw,” in 2001. It was a critical success and lead to tours with Dido, Starsailor and Stereophonics.
Jay had recently enrolled for college. He left no suicide note.
Brian Florence
Categories: Misc.
Brian Florence, a Virginia man who became famous for taking part in a radio stunt, died on Sept. 25 of a heart attack. He was 38.
In 2002, Florence and his girlfriend, Loretta Lynn Harper, allegedly had sex inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, at the urging of the shock jocks on the “Opie and Anthony Show.” Police heard the show and found the couple in the church vestibule, trying to win a prize for having sex in a public place.
Florence was scheduled to appear in court yesterday to face charges of obscenity and public lewdness. The couple’s attorney said they were only simulating copulation.
WNEW-FM later fired DJs Greg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia for the stunt.
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Wendy Wyland VanDerWoude
Categories: Sports
Wendy Wyland VanDerWoude, who won the bronze medal in platform diving at the 1984 Summer Olympics, died on Sept. 27. Cause of death was not released. She was 38.
VanDerWoude began her diving training when she was 14 years old. Three years later, she won the gold medal in the 10-meter platform diving at the 1982 Quayaquil World Championships. At 18, VanDerWoude took home a gold medal in platform and a silver medal in the 3-meter springboard diving events at the 1983 Pan American Games. She finished third in the platform diving competition at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Shoulder injuries forced her to take off most of the 1985 season, but when she returned the following year, VanDerWoulde won a bronze medal at the World Championships. She retired from competitive diving in the early 1990s, and has been coaching the Rochester Institute of Technology diving team for the past year.
In 2001, VanDerWoude was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. People Magazine also named her one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
Pascual Olivera Jr.
Categories: Artists
Pascual Olivera Jr., a world-renowned flamenco dancer and choreographer, died on Sept. 19 of lymphoma. He was 59.
Olivera’s passion for Spanish dancing began in childhood. At 14, he moved to Spain to study with Enrique El Cojo. He attended high school on the U.S. military base in Seville during the day, and at night he was the premiere Spanish dancer in the Jose Greco Spanish Ballet.
As an adult, Olivera became a professional classical, regional and flamenco dancer who performed with more than 50 symphony orchestras, including the DuPage Opera Company and the Midwest Opera Company.
He married dancer Angela del Moral in 1976, and the couple spent the next 27 years dancing together. In the late 1990s, they founded their own company and took the show, “A Romantic Celebration of Spanish Dances,” on tour through the U.S. and Japan.
Yukichi Chuganji
Categories: Extraordinary People
Yukichi Chuganji, the world’s oldest man, died on Sept. 28 of natural causes. He was 114.
Chuganji was born on March 23, 1889, on Japan’s southernmost main island of Kyushu. After graduating from technical school, he worked as a silkworm breeder, a bank employee and a community welfare officer. He attributed his longevity to healthy eating and an optimistic personality.
The world’s oldest woman, 116-year-old Kamato Hongo, also lives on Kyushu.
Robert Lochner
Categories: Media
Robert H. Lochner, a journalist and interpreter, died on Sept. 21 from a lung embolism. He was 84.
Although he was born in New York, Lochner grew up in Berlin. His father, Louis P. Lochner, was a Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent and The Associated Press bureau chief in Germany.
Lochner served in the U.S. Army during World War II. When the Nazis surrendered, he became the chief interpreter for U.S. occupation forces. From 1949 to 1952, he also worked as the chief editor of the Neue Zeitung newspaper in Frankfurt. In this position, he helped revive the free media in West Germany.
During the 1960s, Lochner ran the Radio in the American Sector station. When President John F. Kennedy arrived in the non-Communist half of the divided capital in 1963, Lochner helped him practice his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech.
Althea Gibson
Categories: Sports
Althea Gibson, a tennis champion and golfer who broke the color barrier in both sports, died on Sept. 29 from respiratory failure. She was 76.
A born athlete, Gibson began playing tennis as a child by hitting rubber balls off a brick wall and taking lessons at the Harlem Cosmopolitan Club. She attended Florida A&M University on a tennis and basketball scholarship, then transferred to the pro league.
In 1950, Gibson was the first black player to compete at the national tennis championship. She became the first black entrant at Wimbledon in 1951 and won the tournament six years later. That triumph earned her the title of Female Athlete of the Year by The Associated Press and a parade in New York City. She continued to dominate women’s tennis in the 1950s, winning 11 Grand Slam titles.
Gibson next integrated women’s golf as the first black player on the LPGA tour. After 171 tournaments, she was hired to be the commissioner of athletics in New Jersey, and serve on the governor’s council on physical fitness.
With the aid of her longtime friend, Frances Clayton-Gray, Gibson co-founded the Althea Gibson Foundation, an organization that helps inner city kids learn to play tennis and golf. They also wrote her memoirs, ”Born to Win: The Althea Gibson Story,” which will be published next year.
Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame and the International Sports Hall of Fame. An elementary school in East Orange, N.J., bears her name.