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Jack Burns, one of the original writers for The Muppet Show and a comedy partner to George Carlin, has died. The writer, actor and comedian was 86. The funnyman was living in senior care for the past two years and celebrated his 31st year of sobriety in December, manager Peter Santana on Tuesday told The Hollywood Reporter. Burns died Monday of respiratory failure in Toluca Lake. Kicking off his career as one half of a comedy duo with George Carlin, Burns performed with Carlin — who would go on to become the first host of Saturday Night Live and film...

CALABASAS, Calif. — Kobe Bryant died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, TMZ reports. Bryant was reportedly in his private helicopter with three other people when it crashed. Emergency personnel responded when a fire broke out.

Last week, amid churning news cycles about impeachment and Iran and global trade deals, an era quietly ended. Christopher Tolkien, the third and youngest son of “Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien, died at the age of 95. The younger Tolkien, who spent the last four decades of his life completing his father’s grand artistic vision, was one of the great unsung literary heroes of the last century. For countless readers whose imaginations were molded in part by the legendarium of Middle Earth, his passing severs the last living link to another existential plane.His obituaries variously describe Tolkien as...

Highlander and General Hospital actor Stan Kirsch has died aged 51 after taking his own life in his Los Angeles home. The actor was found dead in his home on Saturday. The Los Angeles medical examiner ruled that Kirsch died by hanging. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that Kirsch's wife, Kristyn Green, found him hanging in their bathroom. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. 'We tragically lost our beloved Stan Kirsch on January 11,' a statement on Kirsch's official Facebook page read. 'He was so loved and we are all just devastated.' His wife shared the statement...

Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said died on Friday evening, state media said early on Saturday. Qaboos, 79, had ruled the Gulf Arab state since he took over in a bloodless coup in 1970. Qaboos had no children and had not publicly appointed a successor. A 1996 statute says the ruling family will choose a successor within three days of the throne becoming vacant. If they fail to agree, a council of military and security officials, supreme court chiefs and heads of the two assemblies will put in power the person whose name has been secretly written by the sultan in...

The comb-loving actor was 87. The most prominent early use of the term "hipster" was on 77 Sunset Strip, the cool detective series set in Los Angeles. Each week, viewers heard singers belt the following lyrics in the brassy theme tune: "You'll meet the highbrow and the hipster." The "hipster" of the theme song was Gerald Lloyd "Kookie" Kookson III, the parking attendant with an obsession with combing his hair. Edd Byrnes portrayed Kookie, and built his fame upon the character, releasing hit pop songs — like "Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" — and making appearances all over television....

An unassuming screenwriter and actor, Mr. Henry thought up quirky characters with Mel Brooks and inhabited many more on “Saturday Night Live.” Buck Henry, a writer and actor who exerted an often overlooked but potent influence on television and movie comedy — creating the loopy prime-time spy spoof “Get Smart” with Mel Brooks, writing the script for Mike Nichols’s landmark social satire “The Graduate” and teaming up with John Belushi in the famous samurai sketches on “Saturday Night Live” — died on Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 89. A friend, Dianne V. Lawrence, said Mr. Henry’s wife, Irene Ramp,...

NEW YORK -- Don Larsen, the journeyman pitcher who reached the heights of baseball glory when he pitched the only perfect game in World Series history in 1956 with the New York Yankees, died Wednesday, his representative, Andrew Levy, tweeted Wednesday night. Larsen was 90. Levy said the former pitcher died of esophageal cancer in hospice care in Hayden, Idaho. Levy said Larsen's son, Scott, confirmed the death.

The controversial radio personality passed away on Friday morning at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in College Station, Texas. Don Imus, the radio personality whose insult humor and savage comedy catapulted him to a long-lasting and controversial career, has died at 79. His three-hour radio program, Imus in the Morning, was widely popular, especially with the over 25-male demographic. Imus died Friday morning at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in College Station, Texas, after being hospitalized on Christmas Eve, a representative said. The cause of death was not disclosed. Mike and the Mad Dog host Mike Francesca tweeted...

Lyon was a model with two acting credits to her name when she beat out a reported 800 other actors for the part of Dolores Haze. Sue Lyon, the titular "nymphet" in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, has died. The actor was 73. Lyon died on Thursday in Los Angeles, according to The New York Times, which broke the news. A friend, Phil Syracopoulos, told the publication that she had been in "declining health" for a while, but a cause of death was not provided. Born in 1946 in Davenport, Iowa, Lyon was a model with two...

William Ebeltoft shipped off to Vietnam a state championship-winning trap shooter, a quick-witted lover of parties and Schlitz beer, and able to relate as readily to gruff ranchers as he did to teens who watched him work on his motorcycle and clean his shotguns. He came home a different man. Every so often, a newspaper publishes an obituary that will break your heart. One of those ran this week, in Dickinson, N.D. (pop. 22,000) William Ebeltoft, 73, was a war hero who "died 50 years after he lost, in Vietnam, all that underpinned his life."https://t.co/44JljzDSaG — Bill Grueskin (@BGrueskin) December...

Dame Mary Barraco now and then. She was knighted "Dame" by the King of Belgium in 2004 for her work as a freedom fighter. (Courtesy of the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater) Mary Sigillo Barraco never forgot what happened to her inside a Gestapo torture cell. She couldn’t forget her beatings if she tried, for she bore the mental and physical scars for the rest of her life. She’d landed there at just 19 after fighting the Nazi regime every way she could: flirting with guards to rescue prisoners of war, working on an underground...

Danny Aiello has passed away at the age of 86. He is known for his roles in "Do the Tight Thing", "Moonstruck" and " The Godfather Part II." Fox News reports the actor’s family said he died at a New Jersey medical facility where he was being treated for a sudden illness.

Veteran film actor Danny Aiello, known for his roles in "Do The Right Thing" and "The Godfather Part II," has died. He was 86. His literary agent told Fox News on Friday that the actor died Thursday night. Per TMZ, who was first to report the news, the actor’s family said he died at a medical facility in New Jersey where he was being treated for a sudden illness. The outlet reports that he was dealing with an infection related to an injection site and died shortly after his family left following a visit.

Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson has died aged 61 after a 17-year battle with cancer. The Swedish pop star, whose most iconic hits included It Must Have Been Love and Listen To Your Heart, passed away on Monday morning and her bandmate, Per Gessle, said 'things will never be the same.' The musician retired from touring three years ago on doctor's orders, and is survived by husband Mikael Bolyos and their two children, daughter Inez Josefin, 26, and son Oscar, 23.

Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve under Presidents Carter and Reagan who later played a role in the Obama administration's response to the financial crisis of 2009, has died at the age of 92. Multiple media outlets reported that Volcker, who raised interest rates as the Fed's chief to combat inflation, had died. In the Obama years, Volcker reemerged to tout a rule, eventually called the Volcker rule, that put tougher constraints on big banks.

Caroll Spinney, a puppeteer who brought the beloved Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch to life, died today at his Connecticut home. He was 85 and died from Dystonia, a movement disorder. His death was announced by the Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit focused on helping preschool-age children reach their potential. Spinney was described by Sesame Workshop as “an artistic genius whose kind and loving view of the world helped shape and define Sesame Street from its earliest days in 1969.” Spinney joined Jim Henson and developed a huge career using the Muppets characters. Big Bird visited China...

William D. Ruckelshaus, who resigned as deputy attorney general rather than carry out President Richard M. Nixon’s illegal order to fire the independent special Watergate prosecutor in the constitutional crisis of 1973 known as the “Saturday Night Massacre,” died on Wednesday at his home in Seattle. He was 87.

Nick Clifford, the last remaining carver of Mount Rushmore, has died at the age of 98. A source close to the family has told us Clifford passed away Saturday morning. A family member confirmed the death. Clifford was the last living carver of Mount Rushmore for last 12 years. During the summers it wasn't unusual for people to see him at the memorial greeting tourists and signing copies of his book.

I received word from 2ndDivisionVet wife that he passed away. I am not using his real name here out of respect but, will ping his handle and his wife can if she would like. I didn't ask what he died from but, knowing him for better than 10 years, I knew of medical conditions and a few terrible Operations he had. He was a wonderful human being who cared deeply for his fellow Americans and the ideals that make this country so great that people the world over want to come here and be free, live in liberty and be...