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Willard Johnson, pathbreaking MIT professor and anti-apartheid activist, dies at 87

Dr. Johnson was a public voice of conscience during protests in Boston to bring apartheid to an end in South Africa.

Frank Wycheck, who threw the lateral in ‘Music City Miracle,’ dies at age of 52
When he retired after the 2003 season, the three-time Pro Bowler was fourth on the all-time list of receptions by tight ends.

Dr. John A. Talbott, champion of care for the mentally ill, dies at 88
The psychiatrist first advocated for the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, then became a fierce critic of how that policy was implemented.

Jane Wodening, experimental film star and intrepid writer, dies at 87

The longtime collaborator and wife of Stan Brakhage, the avant-garde filmmaker, she wrote about life out of a Honda Civic and in a mountain shack.

Isabella de la Houssaye, athlete who endured against the odds, dies at 59
Isabella de la Houssaye, a lawyer and prolific endurance athlete who continued to go on daunting adventures around the world with her five children after being diagnosed with Stage 4 non-small-cell lung cancer, died Saturday in Hermosa Beach, California. She was 59.

Ellen Holly, who challenged racial barriers on daytime TV, dies at 92
Ellen Holly, the first Black actor to play a lead role on daytime television, broke barriers and sparked controversy on the soap opera “One Life to Live” starting in the late 1960s as a woman presumed to be white who becomes enmeshed in a love triangle involving a Black man.

Janet Panetta, 74, dies; admired dancer, choreographer, and teacher
Janet Panetta, who overcame childhood polio to become a dancer with American Ballet Theater, was a performer in New York’s thriving downtown modern dance scene and a revered ballet teacher.

Mary Cleave, shuttle astronaut who tracked climate change, dies at 76
A NASA astronaut who joined the space agency after seeing a recruitment flier at a post office, Mary Cleave served on two space shuttle missions in the 1980s and lead climate change research that scanned ocean ecosystems with images from orbit.

Latest Headlines in Obituaries

Colette Maze, pianist who started recording in her 80s, dies at 109

Colette Maze was long an accomplished pianist and teacher. But it was only in the late 1990s, when she was over 80, that her son persuaded her to begin recording commercially.

Sandra Elkin, creator of a pioneering feminist talk show, dies at 85

The creator and host of weekly PBS talk show “Woman” in the mid-1970s, Sandra Elkin brought frank discussions about birth control, job discrimination, health care, and other issues confronting American women into millions of living rooms across the country.

Ryan O’Neal, actor who starred in ‘Love Story’ and ‘Paper Moon,’ dies at 82

A heartthrob actor, Ryan O'Neal went from a TV soap opera to an Oscar-nominated role in “Love Story” and delivered a wry performance opposite his charismatic 9-year-old daughter Tatum in “Paper Moon."

Juanita Castro, anti-communist sister of Cuban leaders Fidel and Raul, dies in Miami at 90

The sister of Cuban rulers Fidel and Raúl Castro, Juanita Castro worked with the CIA against their communist government. Florida had been her home since shortly after fleeing the island nearly 60 years ago.

Andrea Fay Friedman, who built a breakthrough acting career, dies at 53

An actress who starred in the groundbreaking television series “Life Goes On,” Andrea Fay Friedman was known for her portrayals of people with developmental disabilities.

William Murphy Jr., an inventor of the modern blood bag, dies at 100

A biomedical engineer, Dr. William Murphy Jr. was an inventor of the vinyl blood bag that replaced breakable bottles in the Korean War and made transfusions safe and reliable on battlefields, in hospitals, and at scenes of natural disasters and accidents.

Patrick J. Kenney Jr., 42, who died in apparent accident in Kowloon parking lot, was devoted father

Mr. Kenney, who had recuperated from a series of strokes, “wanted to live life to the fullest after that because he knew tomorrow wasn’t promised," his wife, Lauren, said.

Norman Lear, producer of TV’s ‘All in the Family’ and influential liberal advocate, has died

Lear, the writer, director, and producer who revolutionized prime-time television with such topical hits as “All in the Family” and “Maude” and propelled political and social turmoil into the once-insulated world of sitcoms, has died.