Category Archives: Obituaries

Arlene Winnick, a veteran publicist in Hollywood for over 30 years and an integral part of Solters & Digney and its successor Digney & Co. Public Relations, died in Beverly Hills on Oct. 1 fro...

Ka, a renowned independent Brooklyn rapper, producer and 9/11 first responder, died at the age of 52. The emcee, whose real name is Kaseem Ryan, unexpectedly passed away on Oct. 12, according to a pos...

Richard “Dick” Block, the former president of Kaiser Broadcasting who went on to found Block Communications and teach at USC, died Sept. 30. He was 97. As president of Kaiser Broadcasting,...

Toni Vaz, an actor and activist who created the NAACP Image Awards, died on Oct. 4 in Woodland Hills, Calif. She was 101. Vaz’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from Barbados and she was one of fo...

Peter E. Strauss, the film executive behind projects such as “The Jacket” and “Air," died Oct. 6 at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 83.  Strauss held a number of roles over th...

Nicholas Pryor, who played a father to both Tom Cruise and to Robert Downey Jr. in “Risky Business” and “Less Than Zero,” died Oct. 7 of cancer in Wilmington, N.C. He was 89. H...

Cissy Houston, renowned soul and gospel singer and mother to Whitney Houston, died at the age of 91. Houston, a two-time Grammy winner who sang backup for Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, passed awa...

Ken Page, a theater icon who brought Old Deuteronomy to life in the Broadway debut of “Cats” and delighted children everywhere by voicing Oogie Boogie from “The Nightmare Before Chri...