Free Republic

Thomas Michael Menino, who insisted a mayor doesn’t need a grand vision to lead, then went on to shepherd Boston’s economy and shape the skyline and the very identity of the city he loved through an unprecedented five consecutive terms in City Hall, died Thursday. He was 71 and was diagnosed with advanced cancer not long after leaving office at the beginning of this year.

Gordy Soltau, a 49ers scoring machine in the 1950s and one of the franchise's kindest ambassadors, passed away from natural causes Sunday night with his family by his side. He was 89. Inducted two years ago into the 49ers Hall of Fame, Soltau joined the team in 1950 upon its arrival in the NFL. The pass-catching end and kicker led the 49ers in scoring in eight of his nine years, topping the NFL in both 1952 and 1953.

Tim Hauser, a singer and showman who founded the Manhattan Transfer, a Grammy-winning vocal group that brought four-part harmonies to several decades’ worth of American popular songs, died on Thursday in Sayre, Pa. He was 72. The cause was cardiac arrest, said his sister, Fayette. She said he had been taken to a hospital in Elmira, N.Y., with pneumonia shortly after arriving in nearby Corning for a scheduled performance and was later moved to a hospital in Sayre, where he died. Begun in 1972 when Mr. Hauser was making ends meet as a New York City cabdriver, the Manhattan Transfer...

Dale Dorman, a Boston radio legend who began his career playing top 40s hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and then played the same songs as oldies to the rock 'n roll generation, died Tuesday, his family said. Dorman, 71, of Tewksbury, died at home after a long illness. A private service for family and friends was held Friday. Dorman came to Boston in 1968, working at WRKO for 10 years. He worked at KISS 108 for over 20 years and finished his career at WODS. His nickname, "Uncle Dale" was given to him by listeners when he was just...

Jack Bruce, the singer and bassist for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Cream, has passed away, his family confirmed the musician's passing on his Facebook page. He was 71. "It is with great sadness that we, Jack’s family, announce the passing of our beloved Jack: husband, father, granddad, and all round legend. The world of music will be a poorer place without him, but he lives on in his music and forever in our hearts," the Bruce family wrote. Bruce's publicist added, "He died today at his home in Suffolk surrounded by his family." No other details were...

Wrestling legend William Alvin "Bill" Moody, better known as his ring name Paul Bearer, died Tuesday, March 5. He was 58.

William Moody, better known to pro wrestling fans as Paul Bearer, the pasty-faced, urn-carrying manager for performers The Undertaker and Kane, has died, the WWE said. He was 58. A spokesman for the wrestling company said Moody's family notified the WWE of his death on Tuesday. No cause was released. After stints in various independent wrestling promotions, Moody joined the WWE in 1990 and quickly became associated with The Undertaker, a character who claimed he was undead and boasted of mystical powers. The WWE said in a statement that Moody, "went on to become a memorable part of WWE over...

Paul Bearer -- the spooky WWE manager who helped introduce The Undertaker -- died Tuesday evening at the age of 58 ... this according to the WWE. Bearer -- real name "Bill" Moody -- joined the WWE in 1990 ... playing the role of a creepy funeral director who managed various wrestling stars ... including Undertaker, Kane, Rick Rude, Vader and Mankind. The details surrounding Bearer's death are unclear -- but he reportedly suffered from serious health problems over the past decade ... including morbid obesity and gallbladder issues.

Nelson Bunker Hunt, the Texan oil billionaire whose cornering of the silver market in the late 70s took the silver price to what is still its all-time high of $50 an ounce has died at the age of 88 in a care home. In the oil boom of the 1980s Mr. Hunt was reckonned to be the world’s richest man, a title held by Bill Gates founder of Microsoft today. Apart from his huge oil investments Mr. Hunt diversified into cattle, race horses, land and other real estate, sugar, banks, art, a pizza chain as well as most famously silver....

Contrary to popular myth, Bunker Hunt didn't try to corner the silver market; he and his brother were the main victims in one of history's biggest swindles. Nelson Bunker Hunt, R.I.P.: The Myth of the Hunt Brothers' "Scheme to Corner the Silver Market" 23 October 2014 “Nelson Bunker Hunt, oil fortune heir whose bid to corner the silver market led to ruin, dies.” So ran the headline of the Associated Press report, as it appeared in the U.S. News & World Report online edition for October 22. Similar headlines accompanied many other obituaries of the famous Texas investor/entrepreneur, and if...

The former editor of the Washington Post who led the paper's coverage of the Watergate scandal and made the decision to publish the Pentagon Papers is dead at 93. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2802484/ben-bradlee-washington-post-editor-led-coverage-watergate-dies-93.html#ixzz3Gpfgm5Gb Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Benjamin C. Bradlee, who presided over The Washington Post newsroom for 26 years and guided The Post’s transformation into one of the world’s leading newspapers, died Oct. 21 at his home in Washington of natural causes. He was 93. From the moment he took over The Post newsroom in 1965, Mr. Bradlee sought to create an important newspaper that would go far beyond the traditional model of a metropolitan daily. He achieved that goal by combining compelling news stories based on aggressive reporting with engaging feature pieces of a kind previously associated with the best magazines. His charm and gift...

(CNN) -- Ben Bradlee, the zestful, charismatic Washington Post editor who guided the paper through the era of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate and was immortalized on screen in "All the President's Men," has died. He was 93. Bradlee began end-of-life care at his home last month after suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia for several years. He was the executive editor of The Washington Post from 1968 to 1991, during which time the paper covered the downfall of President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal.

Oscar de la Renta, the doyen of American fashion, whose career began in the 1950s in Franco’s Spain, sprawled across the better living rooms of Paris and New York, and who was the last survivor of that generation of bold, all-seeing tastemakers, died on Monday at his home in Kent, Conn. He was 82. His death was confirmed by his wife, Annette de la Renta. The cause was complications from cancer. Though ill with cancer intermittently for close to eight years, Mr. de la Renta was resilient. During that period his business grew by 50 percent, to $150 million in...

Oscar de la Renta has died at the age of 82. His wife Annette confirmed that the legendary fashion designer passed away at his Kent, Connecticut home on Monday. De la Renta was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, however a cause of death is yet to be revealed. He is survived by both Annette and his adopted son Moises - a designer at the label. Company executives Alex and Eliza Bolen said in a statement that De la Renta died surrounded by family, friends, and 'more than a few dogs'. The statement also read: 'While our hearts are broken by...

Wrestling legend Ox Baker has passed away due to complications stemming from a heart attack, according to multiple reports. The 6-foot-5, 340-pounder was 80 years old... Aside from the wrestling, Baker is remembered in the mainstream for his significant role in the cult classic Escape from New York, directed by John Carpenter and [starring] Kurt Russell, and he's in the documentary I Like To Hurt People...

It was the most notorious spy case of the Cold War — the conviction and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union — and it rested largely on the testimony of Ms. Rosenberg’s brother, David Greenglass, an Army sergeant who had stolen nuclear intelligence from Los Alamos, N.M. For his role in the conspiracy, Mr. Greenglass went to prison for almost a decade, then changed his name and lived quietly until a journalist tracked him down. He admitted then, nearly a half-century later, that he had lied on the witness stand to save...

Sad news via Radio Iowa regarding the passing of Libertarian Party Senate candidate Douglas Butzier: The pilot who died in a plane crash near Dubuque late last night was the Libertarian candidate for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat. The family of Douglas Butzier has confirmed Butzier was piloting the plane that crashed near the Dubuque Regional Airport at about 11 p.m. Monday. No one else was in the plane. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine plane took off from the Ankeny Regional Airport at about 10 p.m. and crashed at about 11 p.m., about a mile north of the...

Hooks didn't barrel into your consciousness with catchphrases..... ...she was a team player who helped make SNL bigger than the sum of its cast list, by being week in and week out one of its best comic actresses ever. ....Hooks could turn herself into celebrities from Sinead O’Connor to Tammy Faye Bakker to Diane Sawyer. Born in Atlanta (where she had an early role on TBS’s Bill Tush Show), she had a special knack for channeling brassy Southern women..... Hooks could turn herself into celebrities from Sinead O’Connor to Tammy Faye Bakker to Diane Sawyer. Born in Atlanta (where she...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Jean-Claude-Duvalier, the self-proclaimed "president for life" of Haiti whose corrupt and brutal regime sparked a popular uprising that sent him into a 25-year exile, died Saturday of a heart attack, his attorney said. Reynold George said the 63-year-old ex-leader died at his home. Duvalier, looking somewhat frail, made a surprise return to Haiti in 2011, allowing victims of his regime to pursue legal claims against him and prompting some old allies to rally around him. Neither side gained much support, and the once-feared dictator known as "Baby Doc" spent his late years in relative obscurity in...