Dead Celebrity Alert

Vincent Sardi Jr., who owned and managed Sardi’s restaurant, his father’s theater-district landmark, for more than half a century and became, by wide agreement, the unofficial mayor of Broadway, died yesterday at a hospital in Berlin, Vt.. He was 91 and had lived in Warren, Vt., since retiring in 1997. … Read full obituary

… Gannon, 54, succumbed to cancer, just months after a final triumph — the hugely successful arena tour of the Peter Allen story, with Hugh Jackman as lead, the star who had taken the story to Broadway. Theatres in the famous New York entertainment precinct were to dim their marquee lights last night to honour Gannon … Read full obituary

Frank Campanella, the hulking character actor who played tough guys in more than 100 films and television shows, has died. He was 87. … Read full obituary

ATLANTA — Garry Betty, the president and chief executive of EarthLink Inc., has died from complications of cancer, the Internet service provider said Wednesday. He was 49. … Read full obituary

Gasper, the beloved beluga whale who became a star of the Georgia Aquarium, was euthanized this morning [January 2] after months of declining health. The ghost-white whale, who had fought a deadly bone disease for months, had stopped eating on his own several weeks ago and aquarium officials said at the time his chances of survival were slim. … Read full obituary

HOLLIS, New Hampshire (AP) — Jared Nathan, a budding actor who as a teenager performed on the popular PBS children’s show “Zoom,” was killed in a car crash. He was 21. … Read full obituary

Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting early Monday, his limousine sprayed with bullets in downtown Denver. … Read full story