Bob Newhart, the beloved stand-up performer whose droll, deadpan humor showcased on two critically acclaimed CBS sitcoms vaulted him into the ranks of history’s greatest comedians, died Thursday morning. He was 94.
The Chicago legend, who won Grammy Awards for album of the year and best new artist for his 1960 breakthrough record, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, died at his Los Angeles home after a series of short illnesses, his longtime publicist, Jerry Digney, announced.
The former accountant famously went without an Emmy Award until 2013, when he finally was given one for guest-starring as Arthur Jeffries (alias Professor Proton, former host of a children’s science show) on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory…..
Mark Hampton, world-famous handgun hunter, author of the Handgun Hunting column in American Handgunner and an old friend of mine, passed away suddenly while on his latest African big game hunt. Details are limited right now, but it seems Mark passed away on day two of the hunt from natural causes, doing what he loved to do most — hunt!
I’ve known Mark for 25 years and brought him aboard to write his iconic column in Handgunner to replace J.D. Jones — tough shoes to fill! Mark’s modest demeanor and easy story-telling prose often hid the fact he was likely the world’s number one handgun hunter. Mark hunted on every continent, taking hundreds of game animals of every type with many landing in world record books. He hunted in Africa almost 30 times, and his tales of hunts around the world and the guns he used graced the pages of American Handgunner and GUNS for almost two decades. Yet, when my wife and I hunted with Mark and his wife, Karen, on their farm in Missouri, he was always a pure gentleman, caring and humble about his many talents and experiences.
Mark also wrote several books on handgun hunting and hundreds of articles in publications across the industry. His legacy of knowledge, consideration, thoughtful help and sincere desire to help new hunters learn the ropes will be missed by all who knew him.
Our hearts go out to his wife, Karen and to the family members.
It is with great sadness that we announce that San Francisco Giants Legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away peacefully this afternoon at the age of 93. pic.twitter.com/Qk4NySCFZQ
The last surviving World War II triple ace pilot died at age 102 this week, more than 75 years after serving in the U.S. Air Force and flying missions over Europe, the Washington Post reported.
Brigadier General Clarence E. Anderson, better known as “Bud,” died peacefully in his sleep on May 17, his family said in a statement on his website.
“We were blessed to have him as our father,” the statement read. “Dad lived an amazing life and was loved by many.”
Anderson is survived by his two children, four grandchildren and five great grandchildren. His wife, Eleanor, died in 2015.
Anderson, who was born in California and learned to fly at 19, served two combat tours during World War II, according to his website. He escorted heavy bombers over Europe from November 1943 to January 1945, flying 116 combat missions and destroying over a dozen enemy aircraft in aerial combat as part of the 357th Fighter Group, nicknamed the “Yoxford Boys.” He was the highest scoring ace in his squadron, according to his website.
Bud Anderson.CEBUDANDERSON.COM.
Anderson’s other military service included serving as the commander of a squadron in post-war Korea and as the commander of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing during combat in Southeast Asia.
During his military service, Anderson earned 25 medals, including two Legion of Merits, 16 Air Medals and “many campaign and service ribbons,” according to his website. He has also been recognized as a fighter ace, or a pilot who has destroyed five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat, three times over.
When not overseas, Anderson was a fighter test pilot and served multiple roles, including as the deputy director of flight test operations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. In total, Anderson logged over 7,500 flying hours in more than 130 types of aircraft.
World War II fighter pilot Bud Anderson stands alongside a P-51C Mustang, Princess Elizabeth, at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, in Cambridgeshire.CHRIS RADBURN/PA IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES
Anderson retired from the Air Force in 1972, and joined the McDonnell Aircraft Company and spent 12 years serving as the manager of a test facility at Edwards Air Force Base in in California. He retired fully in 1984, published an autobiography in 1990, and quit flying at 90 years old but continued to lecture on the topic and consult on computer flying games, according to his website.
Anderson was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008 and the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in 2013, according to his website. He received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015. In December 2022, he was given an honorary promotion to Brigadier General at the Aerospace Museum of California.
Herzog helped the Cardinals to a World Series in 1982
Baseball Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog, who won a World Series as manager with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982, has died, the team announced Tuesday. He was 92.
Herzog played eight years in the majors before heading into the dugout. He was a manager for the Texas Rangers and California Angels for part of the 1973 and 1974 seasons, respectively, before finding some success with the Kansas City Royals and later the Cardinals.
Manager Whitey Herzog, #24 of the St. Louis Cardinals, looks on from the dugout prior to the start of a Major League Baseball game circa 1989. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
“The entire Cardinals family is heartbroken to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer and World Series champion manager Whitey Herzog at the age of 92,” the Cardinals said in a statement posted to X.
RIP Tommy Smothers
Tom Smothers, half of the Smothers Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died at 86.
The National Comedy Center, on behalf of his family, said in a statement Wednesday that Smothers died Tuesday at home in Santa Rosa, California, following a cancer battle.
Gaston Glock
Gaston Glock, the reclusive engineer and tycoon who developed one of the world’s best-selling handguns, died on Wednesday aged 94, Austrian news agency APA said.
The Austrian won loyal followings among police and military across the world with the weapons that bore his name. Forbes estimated his and his family’s fortune at $1.1 billion in 2021.
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has died at the age of 96, according to a statement by The Carter Center.
On Sunday, President Jimmy Carter’s wife died peacefully after being admitted into Hospice care on Friday. She is survived by her four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” President Carter said. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
A biography of Carter given to the White House Historical Association describes Carter as having a “quiet, friendly manner,” which made her “an effective campaigner” for the 39th president.
As the First Lady of Georgia, she created what she called “a more caring society,” according to a biography by The Carter Center, a nonprofit she and Jimmy Carter co-founded in 1982.
“An activist first lady with her own bold agenda, she created a distinct East Wing office from which she set about helping disadvantaged people. Her efforts challenged age discrimination for older adults, encouraged opportunities for people with developmental disabilities, and advanced women’s equality,” the Center states. “Above all, she devoted herself to improving treatment and services for those coping with mental health conditions, a cause she adopted when her husband was governor and that remained her priority for the rest of her life.”
The former president praised his wife’s achievements for devoting herself to several social causes including programs that supported health care resources, human rights, social justice and the needs of elderly people.
In May 2023, it was announced she was diagnosed with dementia.
“She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones,” the Carter Center said in a statement.
Suzanne Somers, the actress who lit up the small screen on “Three’s Company” and one of TV’s most iconic fitness pitchwomen, has died, according to a statement provided to CNN from her longtime publicist R. Couri Hay. She was 76.
“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” Hay wrote in a statement shared on behalf of the actress’ family.
The statement said Somers “was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family.”
“Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly,” the statement added.
Emergency crews reportedly rushed to the former linebacker’s home in Malibu around 12.51pm, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Butkus was found unresponsive by a friend who went to check on him, reported TMZ.
In a statement released on Thursday night, Butkus’ family confirmed the Chicago Bears icon had died “peacefully” overnight, going on to thank his fans and loved ones for their support.
“The Butkus family confirms that football and entertainment legend Dick Butkus died peacefully in his sleep overnight at home in Malibu, California,” they wrote via the Bears account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The Butkus family is gathering with Dick’s wife, Helen.
David McCallum, who starred as Illya Kuryakin alongside Robert Vaughn’s Napoleon Solo in the 1960s hit spy drama “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and had a supporting role as pathologist Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard on the top-rated series “NCIS” decades later, died Monday of natural causes in New York City. He was 90.
Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who rose to national fame as “Joe the Plumber” after confronting Barack Obama on the 2008 campaign trail, died Sunday, his family confirmed.
Wurzelbacher, 49, died after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer in July, his wife, Katie Wurzelbacher told Fox News.
“Our hearts are broken. We lost a beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend. He made an impact on so many lives,” the widow wrote in a statement.
“When I met Joe he was already known by everyone else as ‘Joe the Plumber’ but he wrote something to me that stood out and showed me who he truly was: ‘just Joe,’” she said. “He was an average, honorable man trying to do great things for the country he loved so deeply after being thrust into the public eye for asking a question.”
Wurzelbacher became a symbol of the average Joe when the plumber challenged Obama at a campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, accusing the presidential candidate’s tax plan of going against the American Dream.
Bob Barker, longtime ‘Price Is Right’ host, dies at 99 When producers hired Barker to host “The Price Is Right” in 1972, they hit the jackpot. The game show had faded significantly from its glory days in the late ‘50s and had been punted by two networks before it landed at CBS.
Bob Barker, the longtime host of television’s “The Price Is Right” who used his combination of comfort-food charm and deadpan humor to become an American television staple, has died, according to his longtime publicist. He was 99.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us,” publicist Roger Neal said in a statement Saturday.
Neal served as Barker’s publicist from 1987 to 1994 and again from 2020.
Bob Barker on the set of “The Price is Right” in Los Angeles, in 1985.CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images
When producers hired Barker to host “The Price Is Right” in 1972, they hit the jackpot. The game show had faded significantly from its glory days in the late ‘50s and had been punted by two networks before it landed at CBS.
But in Barker, the show found its voice, and it has continued to air a decade and a half after he retired.
Robert Thompson, the director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, said one reason Barker became an iconic game show host was the sheer length of his career. Barker spent more than half a century on TV, taking over as host of the popular “Truth or Consequences” in 1956 and retiring from “The Price Is Right” in 2007.
A contestant and host Bob Barker play “The Price Is Right” million dollar spectacular in Los Angeles in 2004.Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images “From the black and white era of television right up to the new century, Bob Barker had a real presence on two really big shows,” Thompson said.
“Secondly, you’ve got some game shows where the host just stands behind a podium, but Barker really interacted with regular people” who were selected as contestants. “And he was particularly good at it.”
Robert William Barker was born in Darrington, Washington, on Dec. 12, 1923, and at the age of 6 moved to a Sioux Indian reservation in Mission, South Dakota, with his mother after his father died in a workplace accident. His mother, Matilda, a schoolteacher, remarried and moved again to Missouri. After a two-year stint in the Navy at the tail end of World War II, Barker returned to Missouri to attend Drury College, now Drury University, and graduated with a degree in economics.
Barker landed a job at a radio station in Florida, and it didn’t take long for word of his smooth delivery to travel across the wires. In 1950, he moved to California to start his own radio program, “The Bob Barker Show,” in Burbank.
Television producers clearly tuned in, and Barker landed his first game show in 1956, NBC’s “Truth or Consequences,” a job he would hold for 18 years until it went off the air.
Bob Barker with contestants on “Truth or Consequences in 1963.Herb Ball / NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Barker gave prizes away on “The Price Is Right,” which became the longest-running daytime game show in TV history in 1990, until his retirement.
And when he wasn’t giving away the keys to brand new cars, he was a TV fixture in other time slots. In 1967, he began a 20-year run as emcee of the Miss Universe and Miss America pageants, and in 1969 he started a similarly long run as the host of the New Year’s Day Tournament of Roses Parade.
But Barker’s made-for-television image took a huge hit 1994, when a former “Price Is Right” model accused him in a lawsuit of threatening to fire her if she didn’t have sex with him. Although the model, Dian Parkinson — a 19-year veteran of the show who had been fired the previous year — ultimately dropped the suit, Barker was forced to admit publicly that the two had had a less-than-professional relationship off screen.
Bob Barker with from left, Dian Parkinson, Holly Halstrom and Janice Pennington in 1986.CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty ImagesBarker’s wife, his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo Gideon, had died years before, in 1981. They married in 1945.
The scandal didn’t prevent Barker from being given an Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Barker was also a longtime animal rights activist, ending each episode of “The Price Is Right” with the plea: “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.”
Bob Barker and his wife on the set of “Here’s Hollywood,” with his wife Dorothy Jo Barker. NBC / NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesHe founded a charity in 1995 that provided just such services for pet owners — the DJ&T Foundation, named after his wife and her mother. His passion for the cause can be traced to the first prize he gave away as host of “The Price Is Right” — a fur coat.
“I went to Mark Goodson and told him I didn’t want to be on the stage with these fur coats,” Barker told “CBS This Morning” in 2013, referring to the show’s producer. “So he took fur coats off our show.”
Barker’s longtime friend Nancy Burnet remembered him for his work in exposing animal cruelty.
“I am so proud of the trailblazing work Barker, and I did together to expose the cruelty to animals in the entertainment industry and including working to improve the plight of abused and exploited animals in the United States and internationally,” Burnet said in a statement Saturday.
She added that the two had been friends for 40 years. “He will be missed.”
In 2013, Barker donated $1 million to move three captive elephants from the Toronto Zoo to a sanctuary in California.
The same year, Barker returned in a surprise visit to “Price Is Right” and his successor as host, Drew Carey.
“People ask me, ‘What do you miss most about ‘Price Is Right?’” Barker told Parade Magazine in 2013. “And I say, ‘The money.’ But that is not altogether true. I miss the people, too.”
His death was confirmed to PEOPLE exclusively by his sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony, who jointly offered a statement on the family’s behalf: “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
