Joe Grant, a pioneering Disney animator and writer, died on May 6 at the age of 96. He suffered a heart attack while working at his drawing board. Grant was born in New York and raised in Los Angeles. He trained at the Chouinard Art Institute, then landed a job drawing caricatures for The Los … Continue reading
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. … Continue reading
Julia Darling, an award-winning British writer who chronicled her battle with breast cancer in an online diary, died of the disease on April 13. She was 48. A native of Winchester, England, Darling was born in the house where Jane Austen died. She studied fine art at Falmouth Art College and was a Royal Literary … Continue reading
Feminist Andrea Dworkin described pornography as a violation of women’s civil rights, and linked sexually explicit videos and magazines to rape and violence toward women. She supported her deeply held beliefs by testifying before numerous governmental committees, writing more than a dozen books and working as a political activist. The New Jersey native claimed she … Continue reading
Dale Messick, the cartoonist who created the long-running, syndicated comic strip “Brenda Starr, Reporter,” died on April 5. Cause of death was not released. She was 98. The Indiana native didn’t graduate from high school until she was 21, but found her life’s purpose in writing and drawing. In her 20s, Messick spent her days … Continue reading
Paul Henning, the screenwriter who created “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Petticoat Junction,” died on March 25 of natural causes. He was 93. The Missouri native was the youngest of 10 children. Born on a farm and raised in Independence, he was working at the local drugstore when a county official named Harry S. Truman advised … Continue reading
Mark D. Devlin, a homeless man who published a critically acclaimed memoir, died on March 10. Cause of death was not released. He was 56. The Boston native was frequently beaten by his alcoholic father. At 7, Devlin was deemed a ”stubborn child,” and locked up. Under an archaic state law, a stubborn child was … Continue reading
Andre Norton, the grand dame of science fiction and fantasy, died on March 17 of congestive heart failure. She was 93. Born Alice Mary Norton, she studied history at the Flora Stone Mather College of Western Reserve University. Norton left school during the Depression to help support her family, but later took night classes in … Continue reading
Jack Muller, a retired Chicago police officer who was once known for his uncompromising law-and-order attitude, died on March 11 of kidney failure. He was 81. Born to Hungarian and Polish immigrants, Muller played football and studied law at the University of Michigan. He dropped out of school to enlist in the U.S. Navy and … Continue reading
Jef Raskin, an author, educator and computer interface expert who was known as the “Father of the Macintosh,” died on Feb. 26 of cancer. He was 61. The New York native studied mathematics and philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and earned a master’s degree in computer science at Pennsylvania … Continue reading