Free Republic

August 13, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - One of the leading lights of the pro-life movement in the United States has gone out. Nellie Gray, the charismatic octogenarian founder of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., the largest annual pro-life event in the country, passed away over the weekend, and was discovered in her apartment earlier today. Gray, who was once described by Cardinal Sean O’Malley as the “Joan of Arc” of the pro-life movement, was an ubiquitous figure at the pro-life march every year, her slight frame standing at the podium at stage centre, introducing the many luminaries who...

Sgt. Rock and Easy Company are saluting comic book legend Joe Kubert, who passed away today at the age of 85.

Joe Kubert, a titan among comic-book artists whose work stretched from the Golden Age of the superhero to the gritty realism of the graphic novel, died on Sunday in Morristown, N.J. He was 85. The cause was multiple myeloma, his son Adam said. Mr. Kubert, who first plied his trade as a teenager in the 1930s and continued drawing in the hospital during his final illness, was among the last of the generation of comic-book illustrators whose work helped define the genre in the years before World War II. “He’s the longest-lived continuously important contributor to the field,” Paul Levitz,...

Gore Vidal, the elegant, acerbic all-around man of letters who presided with a certain relish over what he declared to be the end of American civilization, died on Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, where he moved in 2003, after years of living in Ravello, Italy. He was 86.

EL PASO, Texas, -- Police say Sherman Hemsley, the actor who made the character George Jefferson famous in "The Jeffersons," has died. He was 74. Hemsley first became famous during his appearances on the hit show "All in the Family" in the early 1970's. Two years later, Hemsley got his own spin-off series, "The Jeffersons." The Jeffersons was hugely successful, enjoying a run of 11 seasons through 1985. After its cancellation, Helmsley joined the cast of the TV show, "Amen."

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William Raspberry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist for The Washington Post who for 39 years in more than 200 newspapers brought a moderate voice to social issues, including race relations — sometimes to the ire of civil rights leaders — died on Tuesday at his home in Washington. He was 76.

Sage Stallone -- Sylvester Stallone's son -- has died and sources tell us the cause was an overdose of pills. The details surrounding the death are still unclear .. but we're told he was found in his L.A. home by either a maid or his girlfriend. Paramedics were called to the home and pronounced him dead at the scene. Sources tell us authorities are trying to determine if the death was intentional or accidental. We're told Sylvester is a "wreck." Sage famously made his film debut alongside his father in the 1990 movie "Rocky 5" -- playing the role of...

Ernest Borgnine, the beefy screen star known for blustery, often villainous roles, but who won the best-actor Oscar for playing against type as a lovesick butcher in "Marty" in 1955, died Sunday. He was 95....

Ray Bradbury, the writer whose expansive flights of fantasy and vividly rendered space-scapes have provided the world with one of the most enduring speculative blueprints for the future, has died. He was 91. Bradbury's daughter confirmed his death to the Associated Press on Wednesday morning. She said her father died Tuesday night in Southern California. Author of more than 27 novels and story collections — most famously “The Martian Chronicles,” “Fahrenheit 451,” “Dandelion Wine” and “Something Wicked This Way Comes” — and more than 600 short stories, Bradbury has frequently been credited with elevating the often maligned reputation of science...

Sandy Dahl, widow to United Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl, whose plane went down in a Pennsylvania field on 9/11, passed away from natural causes at the age of 52 The Denver Post reports that Dahl passed away in her sleep on Friday night, according to family friend David Dosch. She was best known for channeling the tragedy of her husband’s death on September 11, 2001 into a campaign, which honored his memory and also instigated the Captain Jason M. Dahl Scholarship Fund for new pilots.

Bee Gees' singer Robin Gibb has died following a lengthy battle with cancer, his family have said.

TRIPOLI, Libya – The former Libyan intelligence officer Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, has died in Libya, his brother told AFP on Sunday. "He died an hour ago," Abdelhakim al-Megrahi said, putting the time of death at shortly after 1:00pm local time. The UK Foreign Office could not confirm the report Sunday, however it said it was "seeking further information." Megrahi, 60, was convicted in a Scottish court in 2001 for his role in the December 1998 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Most of those killed in the bombing of the Boeing 747...

Maurice Sendak, the renowned children's book author who revolutionized the genre, has died. He was 83. Sendak died on Tuesday from complications caused by a recent stroke, his editor told the New York Times. He lived in Ridgefield, Conn., and was hospitalized in nearby Danbury. According to the Associated Press, Sendak had suffered the stroke on Friday. Sendak wrote and illustrated more than 50 children's books--including "Where the Wild Things Are," his most famous, published in 1963.

Maurice Sendak, widely considered the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century, who wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche, died on Tuesday in Danbury, Conn. He was 83 and lived in Ridgefield, Conn. The cause was complications from a recent stroke, said Michael di Capua, his longtime editor. Roundly praised, intermittently censored and occasionally eaten, Mr. Sendak’s books were essential ingredients of childhood for the generation born after 1960 or thereabouts, and in turn for their...

So far, it's not clear if the death is related to the rapper's battle with cancer. Russell Simmons' website GlobalGrind.com first reported the death. We have spoken to people independently connected to the rapper who also say he is dead. Yauch co-founded Beastie Boys in 1979 with Mike D, Mix Master Mike, and Ad Roc. The group has won multiple Grammys. Yauch became a vegan at the recommendation of his Tibetan doctors. Yauch is survived by his wife and daughter. He was 47.

TMZ first reported that retired NFL star Junior Seau was found dead Wednesday morning, and that the police were investigating after his housekeeper found the NFL legend with a fatal shotgun wound to the chest. He was 43 years old. The report has been confirmed by the North County Times: Pro football great and Oceanside sports legend Junior Seau has apparently committed suicide, found by a housekeeper with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to multiple sources.Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood said he learned of the death from police Chief Frank McCoy.Police responded to Seau's home on The Strand on...

Teddy Charles, a gifted vibraphonist who teamed up with many of the musicians who revolutionized jazz in the 1940s and ’50s and then literally sailed away to become a sea captain, died on Monday in Riverhead, N.Y. He was 84. The cause was heart failure, his niece Gail Aronow said. Mr. Charles played with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Max Roach and, he insisted, at least once with the legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker. He wrote and arranged pieces recorded by Davis and Mingus and drew praise for his sophisticated compositions. As a studio musician, he backed singers...

(CBS News) Chuck Colson, a former aide to Richard Nixon, evangelical leader, author and nonprofit founder, died Saturday at the age of 80.

TMZ is reporting that famed TV producer, and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” host Dick Clark has died at the age of 82 from an apparent massive heart attack. There are few details surrounding his death at this time. Clark suffered a stroke in 2004, forcing him to retire from hosting “New Years’ Rockin’ Eve.” Ryan Seacrest took over in 2006