Bray Wyatt, pro wrestler. He was 36.
Karol Bobko, astronaut. He was the first pilot of the Challenger. He flew two more shuttle missions (on Atlantis and Discovery).
Hersha Parady, actress. Other credits include “The Waltons”, “Bearcats!”…
…and “Mannix”. (“Cry Silence”, season 6, episode 2, credited as “Receptionist”.)
Sliman Bensmaia. He wasn’t somebody I’d heard of before his obit was published, but he sounds like a person whose passing leaves a hole in the world.
Dr. Bensmaia was a neuroscientist. His specialty was the sense of touch, and how it worked.
Dr. Bensmaia was a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University in the 2000s when the Defense Department, faced with a mounting number of wounded veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, committed $100 million to prosthetics research.
Scientists were making enormous strides in the field of brain-controlled prosthetics, but giving users of such devices a sense of touch was still largely uncharted territory. Patients could not actually feel what they were doing: whether a material was rough or smooth, if it was moving or stable, even where their limb was in space.
Dr. Bensmaia (pronounced bens-MAY-ah) saw his task as taking the next step: understanding how the brain receives and processes information through touch, which in turn could allow prosthetics to perform more akin to an organic limb.
…
He and his team would connect electrodes to areas of the monkeys’ brains, poke spots on their hands and then analyze where the brains received that sensory information, as well as how the animals reacted. They then used electrodes to simulate those pokes, in an attempt to mimic the experience.
“When you imagine moving your arm, that part of the brain is still active, but nothing happens due to the lost connection,” he told the magazine Wireless Design and Development in 2014. “The idea behind the project was to stick electrodes in the brain and stimulate it directly to produce some percepts of touch to better control the modular limb.”
Most scientists focus their labs on either pure or applied research. Dr. Bensmaia’s group — some two dozen undergraduates, grad students, postdocs and technicians — managed to do both. He employed neuroscientists, but also teams of engineers and computer programmers.
“He ran his lab like a small company,” David Freedman, a neurobiologist at Chicago, said in a phone interview.
Such coordination was necessary for the complicated work Dr. Bensmaia engaged in. The sense of touch involves a wide array of finely measured inputs — pressure, heat, movement, hardness — all of which are communicated to the brain through some 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion synaptic connections.
…
Dr. Bensmaia was 49.
Terry Funk, noted professional wrestler.
He also did some acting, including “Road House”: IMDB.
Nancy Frangione, actress. Other credits include “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”, “In the Line of Duty: A Cop for the Killing”, and “Matlock”.
This isn’t quite an obit, but Stephen Wolfram wrote a really long (35,000+ words) remembrance of his friend Edward Fredkin. (Previously.)
NYT obit for Inga Swenson, for the record. (Previously.)
John Devitt, Australian swimmer who won two gold medals in the 1960 Olympics…and there’s a story behind that.
...beyond Australia he may be best remembered for his part in the finish of the 100-meter freestyle final in Rome, one of the more freakish moments in sports history. It led to an overhaul of the way the placings and times for swimming races were decided, with electronic timers and photos replacing judgment calls.
Devitt, at 23 and a lean 6-foot-1 in 1960, was captain of the Australian men’s swimming team for the second consecutive Olympics and the race favorite. One opponent was Lance Larson of Monterey Park, Calif., a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Southern California.
In the eight-man final, Devitt was clearly ahead until the last 20 meters, when Larson, in an adjoining lane, caught up to him. They touched the finish wall almost together, with Larson seemingly slightly ahead. Each congratulated the other, and they then both waited for the official results. The wait was excruciating — almost 10 minutes.
In that era, the rules called for three judges to choose first place, three other judges to choose second, and three others to choose third. Each lane had three timekeepers, but their timing, by hand, was almost incidental in determining who finished where. There was no starting beep or automatic touch pads or accepted electronic timing or replays, as there are in major swimming competitions today.
When the judges were polled after the race, the results were unusual. Two of the three first-place judges had picked Devitt as the winner, and one had picked Larson. Two of the second-place judges had picked Devitt for second, and one had picked Larson. The three timekeepers for Devitt’s lane had all timed him in 55.2 seconds. The three in Larson’s lane had timed the American in 55.0, 55.1 and 55.1.
And a newly introduced automatic timing machine — which was started electronically but stopped manually, and which was to be consulted only when judges were tied, as they were in Rome — had Larson in 55.10 seconds and Devitt in 55.16.
It seemed obvious that Larson had won — until the chief judge, Hans Runstromer of Germany, interceded and voted for Devitt.
American officials protested the decision to the jury of appeals, saying the rules did not give the chief judge a vote. Runstromer disagreed. Besides, he said, he had been standing on the finish line and had seen the whole thing. A Sports Illustrated photograph, however, showed that he was 25 yards away at the time and had viewed the finish at an angle.
The appeal failed. The Americans appealed three times more in the next four years and lost every time. As Larson said, “It was a bad deal.”
…
In 2009, a paper in the journal Physical Culture and Sport: Studies and Research concluded that “Runstromer’s decision undoubtedly sanctioned untruth.”
In other words, the study said, Larson had won.
Since the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, all international swim races have been timed electronically.
John Warnock, co-creator of Postscript and co-founder of Adobe.
Maxie Baughan, linebacker.
He came in second in the league’s United Press International rookie of the year balloting and was named to his first of five Pro Bowl selections with the Eagles.
After a trade to the Los Angeles Rams in 1966, Baughan picked up where he had left off. The Rams’ coach George Allen named him the team’s defensive captain and signal caller. Behind the quarterback Roman Gabriel, the Rams reached the divisional round of the playoffs twice over the next five years, with Baughan cleaning up on defense behind the team’s heralded defensive line, known as the Fearsome Foursome, starring Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy, Rosey Greer and Merlin Olsen.
He would notch four more Pro Bowl appearances during his Rams tenure, adding to an N.F.L. résumé that also included five years as a second-team All-Pro and one as a first-teamer.
Reggie Chaney, former forward for the University of Houston basketball team. He was 23.
Ron Cephas Jones, actor. THR. Other credits include “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Law & Order: Organized Crime”, and “NYPD Blue”.
Chris Peluso, theater actor.
Randy Minniear, former running back for the New York Football Giants.
After playing fullback at Purdue, he was selected by the Giants in the 20th round of the 1966 NFL Draft and would first play in 1967, when Earl Morrall was the quarterback.
“They rate him as the greatest backup quarterback of all time,” Minniear told the Thursday Night Tailgate podcast in 2021. “And that’s one of the things they say about me. I was the greatest benchwarmer of all time. I will tell you this, while I was down there on the end of the bench by the water bucket not one was stolen in five years.”
“The Peripheral” and “A League Of Their Own” at Amazon Prime. Both of these shows had been renewed for a second season (though “ALOTO” had only been given a four-episode run) but Amazon is apparently re-evaluating their plans in light of the strike.
I don’t care much about the baseball show. I was slightly interested in “The Peripheral” because Big Bill Gibson. But I haven’t watched any of the episodes, and am kind of thinking maybe I should read the book first.
I haven’t done any obits for the past few days, for reasons I don’t want to go into here.
But a few people have sent me some, and it would be rude not to acknowledge them.
Sir Michael Parkinson, British talk show host. (Hattip: Lawrence.)
Darren Kent, actor. IMDB. Other credits include “EastEnders”, “Les Misérables” (the TV series), and “C.O.O.L.I.O Time Travel Gangster”. (Hattip: Lawrence.)
Paul Brodeur, longtime New Yorker writer.
Mr. Brodeur also reported on the possible dangers of radiation from microwave ovens, computer terminals and electromagnetic power lines. But this reporting was not as widely accepted as his work on asbestos and CFCs.
In 1997, the National Academy of Sciences found little to no evidence of any risk from power-line radiation. Other studies have been far from conclusive. (Mr. Brodeur noted, however, that the World Health Organization classified microwave radiation from cellphones to be a possible carcinogen.)
James L. Buckley, former Senator from New York (and brother of William F. Buckley Jr.).
Shelley Smith, actress. Other credits include the 1989 “Dragnet” revival, “Magnum P.I.” (the original), and “Cover Up“.
Linda Haynes, actress. Other credits include “Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley”, “In Like Flint” (uncredited), and “Paper Moon” (the TV series: yes, there was a TV series based on the movie. It lasted 13 episodes.)
Robbie Robertson. THR. Pitchfork.
I haven’t seen “The Last Waltz” and kind of want to (it is available on Criterion) but I’ve seen it described as “Martin Scorsese interviews Robbie Robertson. Also, he interviews some of Robbie Robertson’s friends about how great Robbie Robertson is.”
…
I may be being a little unfair to Mr. Robertson, but it seems like everyone in The Band who wasn’t Robbie Robertson didn’t get along with him. When one person has an issue, okay, one person has an issue. But when the entire band has issues…
On a related side note, should I give pigpen51 a guest account here and leave writing the music-related obits up to him?
This is breaking news: Johnny Hardwick, who voiced “Dale Gribble” on “King of the Hill”. IMDB.
Edited to add: THR obit for Johnny Hardwick.
I’m home now. Regular blogging will resume later, including something of a trip report. And some more gun book blogging is coming soon.
In the meantime:
Robert Swan, actor.
Other credits include “C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America”, “Somewhere in Time”, and (interestingly) the “Nightcrawlers” episode of the 1985 “Twilight Zone” revival. Lawrence is right: that is one heck of a segment.
Rodriguez, the singer/songwriter who was the subject of “Searching for Sugar Man”. I feel bad whenever I post a music related obit, as I just don’t have the knowledge to be able to do these well. pigpen51, would you like to step in here?
Still on the road, heading home tomorrow (so it will be a travel day, but I expect to get in mid to late afternoon) so this will be quick and short.
William Friedkin. As I told Lawrence when he sent this to me, “Damn.” THR. I have an ambition to see all of his films, even though some of them are hard to get on home video.
And a few years back, I actually saw “Sorcerer” at the Alamo Drafthouse…with William Friedkin in attendance and answering questions from the audience afterwards. The one thing that stood out to me: he had no tolerance for people who Could. Not. Get. To. The. Point.
Want to see that.
Sharon Farrell. As the subhead notes, she was in the good “Hawaii 5-0”. But I use “good” with reservations, as she was a regular in the final season, which is generally considered to be pretty weak.
Other credits include “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (“Chopper”), “Night of the Comet”. and “Harry O”.
John Gosling, keyboard player for the Kinks.
Marc Gilpin, actor. Other credits include “The Legend of the Lone Ranger”, “Fantasy Island”, and “CHiPs”.
Paul Reubens, aka “Pee-wee Herman”. NYT (archived). THR. Tributes.
Angus Cloud, actor on “Euphoria”. He was 25.
Betty Ann Bruno has passed away at 91.
She was a three-time News Emmy winner. But before all that, as a seven-year-old, she was one of the Munchkins in “The Wizard of Oz”.
Affiliate link to The Munchkin Diary: My Personal Yellow Brick Road on Amazon.
As I write this, I am seeing reports from two sources that Paul Reubens, aka “Pee-Wee Herman”, has passed at 70. Here’s THR‘s very short preliminary story: expect an obit watch tomorrow.
Inga Swenson, actress.
Other credits include “Barnaby Jones”, “The Rookies”, “Earth II”, and “Vega$”.
Magnus White, cyclist.
He was 17, and died after being struck by a car on a training ride.
Devyn Reiley and Zach Colliemoreno were killed over the weekend in a plane crash at Oshkosh’s AirVenture 2023. Ms. Reiley was 30, Mr. Colliemoreno was 20. She was co-founder of the Texas Warbird Museum, and the daughter of former NFL player Bruce Collie.
Two other people, Mark Peterson and Thomas Volz, were killed in a second accident at AirVenture: their passing is also noted in the AVWeb article above.
Randy Meisner, formerly of the Eagles. (The NYT obit is still labeled as “A full obituary will appear shortly.”) THR.
Edited to add 7/29: full NYT obit (archived).
He left the band around the time “Hotel California” was released. Mr. Meisner also played with Poco, and later played “with the likes of Joe Walsh, Dan Fogelberg, Richard Marx, Bob Welch and James Taylor.”
“I was always kind of shy,” he said in a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, noting that his bandmates had wanted him to stand center stage to sing “Take It to the Limit,” but that he preferred to be “out of the spotlight.” Then, one night in Knoxville, he said, he caught the flu. “We did two or three encores, and Glenn wanted another one,” he said, referring to his bandmate, the singer-songwriter who died in 2016.
“I told them I couldn’t do it, and we got into a spat,” Mr. Meisner told the magazine. “That was the end.”
Bo Goldman, screenwriter.
IMDB.
Jerome Coopersmith, theater and television writer.
“Retire In Sunny Hawaii…Forever” from “The Hawaii Five-O Home Page”. My memory is that this was a pretty solid episode, and I’m glad Mike Quigley agrees.
IMDB.
Lelia Goldoni, actress. Other credits include “Theatre of Death”, “The Lloyd Bridges Show”, and “Johnny Staccato”.
Sinéad O’Connor. NYT (archive). THR. Tributes. Pitchfork. Tributes.