Dead Celebrity Alert

Genichi Kawakami, who built the Yamaha empire of pianos and motorcycles that exemplified Japan’s post-war revival, has died.

Known as the “emperor” of the Yamaha company, Mr Kawakami died at the weekend from natural causes, aged 90. Despite his success, Mr Kawakami shied away from publicity.

He died where he had lived his life, in the town of Hamamatsu, west of Tokyo, where the Yamaha organisation is based.

Under Mr Kawakami, the Yamaha group succeeded in two different markets — musical instruments and motorcycles. … Read full obituary

Ruth Handler, who created Barbie, the world’s most popular doll, has died. She was 85.

Handler, who also cofounded the Mattel toy company, died Friday at Century City Hospital, a hospital spokesperson said without releasing details.

Her husband, Elliott, told the Los Angeles Times that his wife died of complications from colon surgery she underwent about three months ago.

Since Handler’s creation, named for her daughter Barbara, was introduced in 1959 it has become an American icon and a touchstone of cultural politics. …

Handler was born Ruth Mosko, the youngest of 10 children of Polish immigrants who settled in Denver. …

In 1978, Handler was indicted for mail fraud and false reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission. …

Handler, who struggled with breast cancer and had a mastectomy in 1970, later blamed her illness, saying it made her unfocused about business concerns.

She began to campaign for cancer awareness. The disease also prompted her second career. … Read full obituary

A former Enron Corp. executive who challenged the company’s questionable financial practices and resigned last May was found shot to death in a car today, an apparent suicide, authorities said. … Read full obituary

Wendy’s restaurant founder Dave Thomas, the well-known face behind the fast-food chain, died early Tuesday after a long battle with liver cancer, the company said. He was 69. … Read full obituary

Obit to come.

Mary Kay Ash, who built a billion-dollar beauty empire from a $5,000 investment in 1963, and who motivated hundreds of thousands of consultants around the world with a combination of rewards, recognition and religion, died yesterday at her home in Dallas. She was 83. … Read full obituary

The death of Mary Kay Ash, she of the cosmetics empire whose reps drove those ubiquitous trademark pink cars, was just announced on the local news. No obit on the ‘Net yet.

MRV Communications, a Chatsworth, Calif.-based developer of single-mode active and passive fiber optic components, said that its chief financial officer, Edmund Glazer, died in today’s apparent terrorist attack in New York City. … Read full obituary

Daniel Lewin, co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) at Akamai Technologies Inc., is said by his company to have died Tuesday as a passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 11. … Read full obituary