Dead Celebrity Alert

Bob Hope, whose mastery of the comic monologue and the topical wisecrack carried him from vaudeville to Broadway musicals and then on to worldwide fame as a radio, film and television star of the first magnitude, died Sunday night in Toluca Lake, Calif., according to The Associated Press, which cited his long-time publicist, Ward Grant. Mr. Hope was 100. … Read full obituary

Jane Barbe, whose voice was familiar to millions of telephone users across the country who ever dialed a wrong number or had to “Please listen to the following options” in a voice-mail system, died July 18 in Roswell, Ga., of complications from cancer. She was 74. … Read full obituary

Obit to come.

Erik Braunn, lead guitarist with Iron Butterfly during the two years of the heavy metal band’s greatest success, has died. He was 52. … Read full obituary

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winning British director John Schlesinger died in a Palm Springs hospital on Friday after a career that tackled sexual taboos in such films as “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Midnight Cowboy” and helped to end a cinematic age of innocence.

Schlesinger, 77, who suffered a debilitating stroke more than two years ago, was taken off life support on Thursday and died early Friday morning… Read full obituary

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Oilman Colin McMillan, who was awaiting Senate confirmation as Navy secretary, died at his ranch from an apparent gunshot wound, and investigators said Friday it might have been self-inflicted. … Read full obituary

A 23-year-old San Diego man was killed Tuesday night as he raced his Porsche on an Orange County freeway at 100 mph, then soared off at an overpass, landing on the freeway below, where he was ejected and run over by several cars, authorities said.

Michael Hanson was killed instantly in the Costa Mesa crash… Read full obituary

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (AP) - Ozzy Osbourne’s tour manager, in town for the Ozzfest heavy metal music festival, was found dead in his hotel room, the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday.

Bobby Thomson, 50, was found around 4:30 p.m. Thursday in his bed at the Townsend Hotel in this Detroit suburb. … Read full story

Walter “Matt” Jefferies, the art director who designed the original Enterprise vessel for the first Star Trek series has died, the official website of the sci-fi series has announced. … Read full obituary

Key West, Florida — Key West commissioner Jeremy Anthony has died after a lengthy battle with AIDS. The body of the 51 year old Anthony was discovered Monday at his home.

Anthony was nearing the end of his first term on Key West’s council and had announced plans to run for mayor. …

Anthony was diagnosed with HIV 18 years ago. A vegetarian, he used natural, non-pharmaceutical treatment methods. …

In his 21 years in Key West, Anthony served as president of the Lesbian and Gay Pride Alliance and as a board member of the Boys & Girls Club of the Keys. … Read full obituary

Barbara B. Lazarus, an educational anthropologist who studied barriers to women entering science and engineering and created programs to overcome them, died last Tuesday in Pittsburgh. She was 57. … Read full obituary

Richard Coleman, a founder of the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club who was as passionate an outdoorsman as he was a protector of the outdoors, died Friday in a head-on airboat collision. He was 59. … Read full obituary

Washington: Prize-winning Indian-American poet Reetika Vazirani and her two-year-old son were found dead with their wrists slashed at a house she had been staying in, The Washington Post said on Friday. …

Neighbours and friends of Vazirani, 40, said she had been distraught in the days leading up to the tragedy. She said she had tried to meet with a neighbourhood priest and borrowed a Bible from a neighbour. … Read full obituary

On July 24, 1965, the British journal Nature published an article that revolutionized the way we all understand the Earth.

The paper was written by the Canadian scientist John Tuzo Wilson, a man gifted with stunning vitality and extraordinary intuition. … Read full obituary

Police searching for Dr David Kelly, an official adviser on Iraqi arms at the centre of a row about a Government dossier on weapons of mass destruction, found a body today. … Read full story

NEW YORK (CNN) — Latin music icon Celia Cruz, the “Queen of Salsa,” died Wednesday afternoon after battling cancer, her manager said. She was believed to be 78 years old. … Read full obituary

From the editor of UFO Magazine:

The death has been announced of Gordon Creighton, who died this morning (Wednesday, 16 July, 2003). He was aged 95. Up until his death, the former British Diplomat was Editor of ‘Flying Saucer Review’, one of the oldest and most respected UFO journals in the world.

Graham W. Birdsall, Editor of UFO Magazine, said: “Gordon Creighton was arguably one of Ufology’s greatest ever proponents. For the best part of 50 years, he sought out information on the phenomenon from around the world, and his lasting legacy will be that which he came to publish in ‘Flying Saucer Review’. He was a remarkable man in every respect, and the world of Ufology will mourn his passing.”

Obit to come.

Compay Segundo, the salty Cuban singer and guitarist who was the eldest of the elder musical statesmen featured on the “Buena Vista Social Club” album and film, died on Sunday at his home in Havana, an official at his record company in Spain said. He was 95. … Read full obituary

SINGAPORE — Neurosurgeons separated 29-year-old Iranian twins joined at the head Tuesday after two days of delicate surgery, but both sisters died shortly after their parting.

Ladan Bijani died first, then her sister Lelah died hours later, said a nurse involved in the surgery. … Read full story

TORRANCE, Calif. July 7 — Actor Buddy Ebsen, who starred in the television series, “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Barnaby Jones,” has died, a hospital official said Monday. He was 95. … Read full obituary

Josh Daniel Speer, a 21-year-old Marine who died in a single-vehicle wreck Sunday, poses with his weapons in Iraq.

A Marine who was home for the first time since fighting in Iraq died Sunday morning when the vehicle he was driving veered off State 11 and crashed into some trees, authorities said.

Josh Daniel Speer, 21, died instantly about 8 a.m. while en route to his fiancee’s house, said Kent Dill, a Greenville County deputy coroner. … Read full obituary

WINDHOEK, Namibia, July 5 — N!xau, the diminutive bushman catapulted from the remote sandswept reaches of the Kalahari Desert to international stardom in the film ”The Gods Must Be Crazy” has died, police officials said Saturday. … Read full obituary

Barry White, whose deep voice and lushly orchestrated songs added up to soundtracks for seduction, died yesterday in Los Angeles. He was 58. … Read full obituary

Rod Amateau, considered a leader in television directing and whose credits include “Mister Ed,” “The Patty Duke Show” and “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show,” has died. He was 79. … Read full obituary