Dead Celebrity Alert

March 7, 2008 — John Lennon nicknamed him “Normal”, and under the name “Hurricane” Smith he enjoyed a one-off No1 hit, but it was as plain Norman Smith that he made his mark on the history of popular music.

As George Martin’s engineer and right-hand man, Smith twiddled the knobs, set up the microphones, checked the levels and acted as general factotum on all the Beatles’ recordings between 1962 and 1965, totalling some 150 songs from Love Me Do and She Loves You to Nowhere Man and Norwegian Wood. … Read full obituary

Evan Mecham, the feisty, ultra-conservative Pontiac dealer whose turbulent tenure as governor deeply divided Arizona and prompted his impeachment in 1988, died [February 21] after a long illness. He was 83. … Read full obituary

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and is widely seen as the father of the role-playing games, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69. He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax. … Read full obituary

Italy’s Giuseppe Di Stefano, one of the greatest tenors of the 20th century and celebrated singing partner of Maria Callas, has died.

Monika Curth says her 86-year-old husband died Monday morning at his home near Milan from injuries sustained when he was attacked in Kenya in 2004. … Read full obituary

TORONTO (AP) — Blind rock and jazz musician Jeff Healey has died after a lifelong battle against cancer. He was 41. …

The Grammy-nominated Healey rose to stardom as the leader of the Jeff Healey Band, a rock-oriented trio that gained international acclaim and platinum record sales with the 1988 album “See the Light.” The album included the hit single “Angel Eyes.” … Read full obituary