Ray Close obit

Belfast boxing great Ray Close dies aged 57

 

He was not on the list.

One of Northern Ireland’s most gifted boxers, Ray Close, has died at the age of 57.

Born in Belfast in 1969, Close emerged as a highly regarded amateur before turning professional in 1988.

His amateur achievements included Irish titles and success at European level, establishing the technically gifted boxer as one of the most promising fighters to come out of the city.

As a professional, he captured the Irish super-middleweight title early in his career and, in March 1993, travelled to Italy and stopped Vincenzo Nardiello to win the European super-middleweight championship.

Close will be best remembered for his pair of fights with Chris Eubank.

In 1993, the relatively unheralded Belfast challenger travelled to Glasgow to take on the unbeaten WBO super-middleweight champion. Close produced the performance of a lifetime over 12 rounds, with the judges unable to separate the pair.

The rematch, at Belfast’s King’s Hall in May 1994, saw the champion retain his title by split decision.

On both occasions, Close was unfortunate not to be awarded the victory.

A third meeting did not materialise after a brain scan led to the British Boxing Board of Control withdrawing Close’s licence.

Close was convinced he still had plenty left to give and later obtained permission to box in the United States, where he returned to the ring and won five contests.

His professional record eventually finished at 25 wins, two defeats and that famous draw against Eubank in Glasgow.

Close spent the last three years as a resident at the Phoenix Clinic in Newtownards, the only nursing home in Northern Ireland providing specialist care for people aged 18 to 65 with physical disabilities.

Close’s son Benjamin has become a fundraiser for the clinic, running several events, including the Belfast Half Marathon, in his father’s honour.

Jeff Van Note obit

FALCON FOREVER 

Atlanta Falcons legend dead at 80 as tributes pour in for icon who made six Pro Bowls – ‘should be in Hall of Fame’

 

He was not on the list.

THE Atlanta Falcons are mourning the loss of an icon who’s in the team’s Ring of Honor.

The Falcons announced the death of longtime offensive lineman Jeff Van Note.

Selected by the Falcons in the 11th round of the 1969 NFL Draft, Van Note became one of the team’s all-time stalwarts.

He played with Atlanta until the 1986 season.

Van Note played linebacker at college, but made the switch to center in the pros.

And he never looked back, becoming the starter in 1970 and earned a second-team All-Pro nod twice and making six Pro Bowls.

Today, we mourn the loss of a true Falcons legend,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement.

“Jeff Van Note dedicated 18 seasons to this franchise and became one of the most respected and beloved players in our history.

“He embodied toughness, resilience, humility, and an unwavering commitment to his team, qualities that earned him the admiration of generations of Falcons fans.”

NFL fans took the news hard on social media.

“Man. RIP Jeff Van Note. A true legend who should have been in the Hall of Fame already,” one wrote on X.

“One of my childhood heroes. RIP,” another said.

“This hits hard. Jeff was one of my favorite players after moving from Montana and becoming a Falcons fan. RIP, Jeff!!!,” a third added.

Van Note played an astounding 246 games with the Falcons, which is second only to his former teammate Mike Kenn in the organization’s history.

He missed just four games in his whole NFL career.

After his playing days, Van Note entered media, working as a color commentator for most of the 1990s and early 2000s.

He was a contributor and voice of Atlanta sports radio and the Falcons.

The Falcons inducted Van Note into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2006.

Van Note played at the University of Kentucky, where he was a running back and defensive end for the Kentucky Wildcats football team from 1966 to 1968.

During the 1969 season, he played minor league football with the Alabama (Huntsville) Hawks of the Continental Football League.

Van Note soon moved to center by Falcons head coach Norm Van Brocklin. Despite his modest draft status and lack of experience in the position, Van Note established himself as one of the finest centers in the NFL, making six Pro Bowls and helping the young Atlanta franchise to some of the greatest seasons in team history. His 18-year tenure with the Falcons is one of the 25 longest in NFL history and is the second longest while staying with the same team. He played in 246 games over this stretch, and his 225 games started as a Falcon is second in team history to Mike Kenn. Van Note missed a mere four games in his entire NFL career.

In his final home game at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium on December 14, 1986, the Falcons honored Van Note and presented him a 57 Chevy. He would also be voted by fans as the franchise's favorite player during the Falcons' 25th Anniversary season in 1991. Van Note would be inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

After retiring from professional football, Van Note served as color commentator on the Atlanta Falcons and Kentucky Wildcats football broadcasts throughout the 1990s. Throughout this period, he would also frequently be heard on Atlanta airwaves as a sports-talk radio host.

Van Note also spent time alongside Joe McConnell as the color commentator for the Tennessee Oilers in 1997.

Van Note gave up his commentator positions with both teams following the 2003 season, but was called back into regular duty when Georgia Tech football analyst Kim King was unable to call games and later died in the fall of 2004.

Though no longer occupying the Falcons' play-by-play booth, he continued to appear weekly on the Falcons' radio broadcasts, hosting a studio pre-game show and taking calls following the game.

Van Note called the University of Kentucky/Middle Tennessee State game with Tom Leach on UK radio in September 2008, filling in for regular commentator Jeff Piecoro.

Career history

Alabama Hawks (1969)

Atlanta Falcons (1969–1986)

Awards and highlights

2× Second-team All-Pro (1979, 1982)

6× Pro Bowl (1974, 1975, 1979–1982)

Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor

Second-team All-SEC (1966)

Career NFL statistics

Games played  246

Games started  226

Cesar Virata obit

Cesar Virata, the Marcos-era prime minister, 95 

He was not on the list.

Former Prime Minister Cesar Virata, who was also the country’s longest-serving finance chief, died Friday at 95, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) announced.

Virata, the last prime minister of the Philippines under the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., died on Friday at 95.

“It is with deep sorrow that the bank announces the passing of Mr. Cesar E.A. Virata, our corporate vice chairperson/Director, today, October 2, 2026,” RCBC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

“Mr. Virata was a valuable part of the organization, having been a director of the bank since 1995 and the board’s corporate vice chairperson for 26 years,” the bank said.

The Department of Finance said it mourns the passing of Virata who was born on Dec. 12, 1930. 

“We honor his service to the nation and extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. May he rest in peace,” it said.

“The Philippines has lost a great public servant. My deepest condolences to his family. May the loss of PM Virata remind us of the gains we made with a leader like him. Thank you, PM Virata, for the example and for the foundations you left us,” said former finance secretary Cesar Purisima.

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) cited Virata’s contributions to economic management, public service and nation-building.

It said Virata, whom it recognized as its Management Person of the Year in 1981, exemplified professional management and public service during a career that spanned the private and public sectors.

The MAP said his work was marked by managerial competence, professionalism and a strong sense of responsibility to the nation.

“His leadership stands as an enduring example of how integrity, competence, and principled leadership can be placed in the service of the greater good,” the MAP said.

The MAP said it would remember Virata as a statesman and management leader whose career reflected a commitment to nation-building.

“May his legacy of integrity, professionalism and devoted service to the country continue to inspire generations of Filipino leaders and managers,” the group said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also mourned the passing of Virata and extended its deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.

“Minister Virata devoted his life to public service and to strengthening the Philippine economy and financial system. For the Philippine capital market, his legacy is especially enduring. As an incorporator of the Philippine Stock Exchange and a leading proponent of the country’s fixed-income trading platform, he helped establish institutions and market infrastructure that have supported the development of a deeper, more modern and more resilient capital market,” the SEC said in a statement.

“His contributions reached beyond policy and government—they helped shape the financial institutions and markets that continue to serve the Philippine economy today,” the corporate regulator said.

Virata served as prime minister from 1981 to 1986. He held the finance portfolio from 1970 to 1986 and was regarded as a key economic technocrat and fiscal conservative.

He also headed the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and chaired the Board of Investments. He represented the Philippines as governor at the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Virata joined the RCBC board in 1995 and became a senior adviser to the Yuchengco-led bank in 2007. He also held directorships and advisory roles at Malayan Insurance Co., Lopez Holdings Corp. and World Trade Center Management Inc.

Before entering government, Virata was dean of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Business Administration and a principal at accounting firm SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. The college was later named the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business in his honor.

He earned engineering and business degrees from UP and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Japan conferred on him the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in 2016 for strengthening Philippine-Japan economic ties.

Virata was a grand-nephew of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippine Republic.

Mary Louise Weller obit

Mary Louise Weller of ‘Animal House’ Dies at 80

 

She was not on the list.

Mary Louise Weller, remembered for playing sorority girl Mandy in the classic film “Animal House,” died October 1. She was 80.

According to some reports, though her birthdate has always been listed as September 1, her true birthdate was October 1, meaning she may have died on her birthday.

Her Facebook account announced, “With a heavy heart I share that Mary Louise Weller [‘ML to those that knew and loved her] passed away this morning after a brief illness. The family is asking for privacy & respect at this difficult time. Thank you all for your supportive words & continued kindness.”

According to a Cult Film Freaks interview from 2012, Weller said, “I flew out of the womb in full camera makeup and screaming, ‘HAIR! MAKEUP!’”

She said her father was friends with entertainer Danny Kaye and her aunt headed up Dell, which published all the gossip tabloids, two things that inspired her to pursue the spotlight early on.

An in-demand model, she made her first film appearance in 1972’s “Hail!” and, soon after, appeared briefly in the hit “Serpico” (1973).

After the horror film “The Evil” (1978), she landed the iconic part of Mandy in “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” which became a massive box office blockbuster thanks to its nostalgic handling of the early ‘60s and crude frat-boy humor that helped establish the “gross-out” comedy trend.

It was out-there in 1978, but by 2001 the Library of Congress had honored it with preservation at the National Film Registry.

The film is frequently cited as one of the funniest ever made.

Weller also appeared in “Forced Vengeance,” “Q,” and  “Blood Tide” (all 1982), guesting on such TV shows as “Kojak” (1978), “Starsky & Hutch” (1978), “Fantasy Island” (1979 & 1980), “CHiPS” (1981), and “Quincy, M.E.” (1983) before retiring.

Information on survivors was not immediately available.

 

Actress

Jack Klugman in Quincy, M.E. (1976)

Quincy, M.E.

7.3

TV Series

Dr. Wendy Peterson

1983

1 episode

 

Deborah Shelton in Bloodtide (1982)

Bloodtide

4.5

Sherry Grice (as Mary-Louise Weller)

1982

 

Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

Q: The Winged Serpent

6.0

Mrs. Pauley

1982

 

Chuck Norris in Forced Vengeance (1982)

Forced Vengeance

5.6

Claire Bonner

1982

 

Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in CHiPs (1977)

CHiPs

6.5

TV Series

PaulaCarol

1978–1981

2 episodes

 

Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize in Fantasy Island (1977)

Fantasy Island

6.6

TV Series

Dulcie MerchantDulcineaTina Mason

1979–1980

2 episodes

 

Christopher Lee, Ted Danson, and Mary Louise Weller in Once Upon a Spy (1980)

Once Upon a Spy

4.9

TV Movie

Paige Tannehill

1980

 

Douglas Barr, Philip Brown, Susan Buckner, Tim Rossovich, and Dolph Sweet in When the Whistle Blows (1980)

When the Whistle Blows

5.2

TV Series

Beth Hollister

1980

1 episode

 

Valentine Magic on Love Island (1980)

Valentine Magic on Love Island

5.0

TV Movie

Denise

1980

 

Tony Curtis, Robert Urich, Phyllis Davis, and Judy Landers in Vega$ (1978)

Vega$

6.9

TV Series

Jamie Randall

1980

1 episode

 

Semi-Tough (1980)

Semi-Tough

5.7

TV Series

Barbara Jane Bookman

1980

1 episode

 

Detective School (1979)

Detective School

6.8

TV Series

Cora

1979

1 episode

 

The Bell Jar (1979)

The Bell Jar

5.1

Doreen

1979

 

Greg Evigan in B.J. and the Bear (1978)

B.J. and the Bear

6.4

TV Series

Elizabeth Chambers

1979

1 episode

 

Joey Aresco, Ilene Graff, and Harrison Page in Supertrain (1979)

Supertrain

4.5

TV Series

Ali

1979

1 episode

 

Shaun Cassidy, Pamela Sue Martin, and Parker Stevenson in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977)

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

7.3

TV Series

Annie Metzger

1978

1 episode

 

Starsky and Hutch (1975)

Starsky and Hutch

7.0

TV Series

Dolly Ivers

1978

1 episode

 

National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

National Lampoon's Animal House

7.4

Mandy Pepperidge

1978

 

Mary Louise Weller in Hunters of the Reef (1978)

Hunters of the Reef

6.0

TV Movie

Tracey Russell

1978

 

The Evil (1978)

The Evil

5.6

Laurie Belman

1978

 

Telly Savalas in Kojak (1973)

Kojak

7.1

TV Series

Stacy

1978

1 episode

 

Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)

Baretta

6.8

TV Series

Rosalind

1977

1 episode

 

Calling Doctor Storm, M. D.

TV Movie

Venessa Stendak

1977

 

Serpico (1973)

Serpico

7.7

Sally - Girl at Party (uncredited)

1973

 

Hail (1972)

Hail

6.9

Mrs. Ellinson

1972

 

Thanks

Edie Sedgwick in Ciao Manhattan (1972)

Ciao Manhattan

5.6

grateful acknowledgment

1972

 

Self

Johnny Carson in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

8.5

TV Series

Self - Guest

1978

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

The Yearbook: An 'Animal House' Reunion (1998)

The Yearbook: An 'Animal House' Reunion

6.6

Video

Self - Mandy Pepperidge (archive footage, uncredited)

1998

 

Greg Evigan in B.J. and the Bear (1978)

B.J. and the Bear

6.4

TV Series

Elizabeth Chambers (archive footage)

1979

1 episode

 

Biljana Plavsic obit

Bosnian Serb Wartime Leader Biljana Plavsic Dies Aged 96

Wartime vice-president of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, the only woman ever convicted of war crimes by the Hague Tribunal, dies in Belgrade – to the end maintaining she had 'done nothing wrong'. 

She was not on the list.

Biljana Plavsic, a senior wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs, died on Thursday aged 96 in Belgrade, where she had been living since release from prison, the public broadcaster of Bosnia’s Serb-led entity, Republika Srpska, RTRS, reported.

As vice-president of the Serb-led Republika Srpska entity during the 1992-5 war, she was sentenced to 11 years in prison in on February 2003 by the UN tribunal in The Hague after pleading guilty to the persecution of Bosniaks, Croats and other non-Serbs.

In June 2003, she was transferred from The Hague to Sweden to serve her sentence and she released in October 2009, having served two-thirds of her sentence.

She then returned to Belgrade, where she lived a reclusive life and was not politically active. She was divorced and had no children, RTRS wrote in its report on her death.

Plavsic was born in 1930 in the Bosnian town of Tuzla. She was the only woman to be indicted and convicted of wartime crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, in The Hague.

But she later told Swedish magazine Vi that she only admitted guilt to get the other charges against her dropped, and had “done nothing wrong”.

She told BIRN in 2019 that she could not remember expressing remorse in court for causing suffering during the war. “I try to forget that period,” she said.

A former biology lecturer, Plavsic became the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency from November 1990 until December 1992. She was later one of the vice-presidents of the newly-founded Republika Srpska, under Radovan Karadzic.

After the war, in 1996, she became Republika Srpska’s second president, a position she held until November 1998.

The Hague prosecution charged her alongside Momcilo Krajisnik, Republika Srpska’s speaker from 1991 to 1996. Krajisnik was found guilty of deportation and forced displacement; he died in September 2020 due to the consequences of COVID-19.

Pat Saiki obit

Pat Saiki, former GOP congresswoman from Hawaiʻi, dies at age 96

 She was not on the list.

Pat Saiki, the first Republican elected to the U.S. House since statehood and a lawmaker who played a significant role in the passage of legislation paying reparations to Japanese Americans incarcerated by the U.S. during World War II, has died. She was 96.

Saiki died of natural causes in her Honolulu home on Wednesday, her son Stuart Saiki said.

Saiki first got involved in public policy when she was a teacher and was a leader in the formation of the state’s first teachers' union. She served in the state House from 1968 to 1974 and in the state Senate for eight years after that. She was elected to Congress in 1986.

Gov. Josh Green ordered the U.S. and Hawaiʻi state flags to be flown at half-staff from Friday through Monday.

“Pat Saiki’s six decades of public service and her pioneering example for young women and Asian Americans in Hawaiʻi and across the U.S., combine to form both a lasting, inspiring legacy and a high bar for all of us who serve the public,” Green said in a statement.

Stuart Saiki said his mother was a trailblazer who thought outside the box to get things done for the state, the country and women. He recalled that she was in the Legislature when he and his four siblings were still young.

“She would help me with my homework, and she would be just a regular mom to us as well as a politician,” Stuart Saiki said. “So we called her Supermom.”

She counted the creation of Kapiʻolani Community College and the formation of the Sex Abuse Treatment Center at Kapiʻolani Medical Center among her most significant accomplishments at the state Legislature.

In Congress, she helped convince Republicans to support issuing an apology to Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps and to pay them compensation.

Stuart Saiki said she would never boast and was humble.

She ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate against Daniel Akaka in 1990. The following year, she became the administrator of the Small Business Administration under President George H.W. Bush.

Saiki was born in Hilo and graduated from Hilo High School and the University of Hawaiʻi.

In addition to Stuart Saiki, Saiki is survived by three other children: Laurie Saiki, Dr. Margaret Saiki and Dr. Sandra Saiki, and her grandchildren. Her parents, husband Dr. Stanley Saiki, and her oldest son, Dr. Stanley Saiki, Jr., predeceased her.

A member of the Republican Party, she served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1991 and then as Administrator of the Small Business Administration under President of the United States George H. W. Bush.

Saiki was born in Hilo, Hawaii, on May 28, 1930. Saiki graduated from Hilo High School in 1948 and received her bachelor's degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1952. Upon graduating from college, Saiki became a teacher at Punahou, Kaimuki Intermediate, and Kalani High schools. She also taught in Toledo, Ohio, when she and her husband, Stanley Saiki, moved there for his medical school residency.

Esther Rantzen obit

Dame Esther Rantzen Dies: BAFTA-Winning British TV Presenter Was 86

 

She was not on the list.

Dame Esther Rantzen, the BAFTA-winning presenter of shows including That’s Life!, died September 30. She was 86.

In a statement issued to the Press Association, her children Miriam Wilcox, Rebecca Wilcox and Joshua Wilcox confirmed the passing of their “adored mother.”

Rantzen was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2023 and went on to become a prominent campaigner for legalizing assisted dying in the UK. Lawmakers voted against proposed legislation earlier this month.

In a storied small-screen career, Rantzen hosted consumer affairs show That’s Life! for more than two decades. Anthony Hopkins film One Life immortalized a famous episode of the BBC series in which the show reunited humanitarian Nicholas Winton with Jewish children he rescued from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Samantha Spiro played Rantzen in the film.

In 1988, Rantzen won BAFTA’s Richard Dimbleby Award for factual programming. She also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!. She was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014.

Here is the statement from Rantzen’s children:

Our adored mother, Dame Esther Rantzen, died today. Her legacy of compassion and understanding will live on in her charities Childline and the Silverline, and through those of us who were lucky enough to love and be loved by her.

We are grateful she is finally at rest with her beloved husband, Desmond Wilcox, but we will miss her immeasurably. She was our sunshine. We will always remember her endless capacity for joy, her ability to comfort every heartache, her beautiful way with words and her expert guidance in all things.

She was the most wonderful mother to us three children and a cherished grandmother to her five treasured grandchildren. We have been so lucky for so long, no matter how much time we had with Mum it could be never be enough, but we are so grateful for our lives together.

Mum’s work with charities and campaigning, particularly for children, older people, and the terminally ill, meant the world to her so thank you to everyone who has written to her, shared their stories with her over the years and worked alongside her.

We hope the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her work may continue to inspire you as it will do us. We kindly ask that we are given privacy and time to grieve.

David Rosello Rodriguez obit

Longtime Cubs infielder who finished career in Cleveland dies at 76

 A veteran infielder who played nine MLB seasons and was known more for his glove than his bat with the Cubs and Indians died at 76

He was not on the list.

Dave Rosello, who played nine MLB seasons for the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians, died Wednesday, Sept. 30, in Kissimmee, Fla. He was 76.

A native of Puerto Rico, Rosello was mostly a backup infielder, known more for his fielding prowess than his bat.

A three-time American Association All-Star in the minors, Rosello led Double-A shortstops in assists and chances in 1972. But he needed time to prove himself as a hitter before finally getting a chance to play regularly in Chicago.

Rosello spent parts of four seasons as a backup second baseman and shortstop with the Cubs when, in 1976, he faced the unenviable task of replacing six-time All-Star Don Kessinger at shortstop.

Rosello got his most extended playing time with the Cubs that year after getting the start on Opening Day. In a career-high 91 games, he slashed .242/.359/.286, with more walks (41) than strikeouts (33).

But Rosello’s time as a starter ended relatively quickly. By 1977, he was back in a reserve role and the Cubs traded Rosello to Cleveland for Norm Churchill and Bruce Compton — two players who never reached the majors — after the season.

In three seasons in Cleveland (1979-81), Rosello played another 173 games. He set a career high in 1979 by hitting three home runs and driving in 14.

In 1982, Rosello spent the season with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate, appearing in most of his 111 games at third base. That proved to be his last season in professional baseball in the U.S. Rosello retired with a career batting average of .236 in 422 major-league games.

According to his online obituary, Rosello is survived by two children, two stepchildren and five grandchildren.

David Rosello Rodriguez, who was born on June 26, 1949, in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and passed away on September 30, 2026, in Kissimmee, Florida, lived a life marked by kindness, laughter, and devotion to the people he loved most.

He was a friendly, funny, and kind man whose presence brought warmth and comfort to those around him. David carried himself with a welcoming spirit and a genuine interest in others, and he was known for the easy way he could make people feel at home. His life was centered on family, friendship, and the simple joys that made each day meaningful.

David’s greatest passion was baseball. He loved the game deeply and found great joy in serving as a baseball coach, where he shared his knowledge, encouragement, and enthusiasm with others. Coaching was more than a pastime to him. It was a way to inspire, teach, and connect with those around him. He took pride in helping others grow, and his love for the sport left a lasting impression on many.

In addition to baseball, David enjoyed golf and appreciated the pleasure of a good drive, a day at the beach, and the excitement of travel. He also loved good food and treasured the experiences that came from sharing meals and memories with the people closest to him. One of his favorite traditions was attending Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, an experience he looked forward to and enjoyed with great enthusiasm.

Above all else, David loved spending quality time with his family. He was a devoted husband to his wife, Virgen Rodriguez, and a loving father to his children, Noemi Rosello Rodriguez and David E. Rosello Rodriguez. He also embraced his role as a stepfather to Jonathan L. Soto Rodriguez and Christopher L. Soto Rodriguez with care and affection. His love extended to his grandchildren, Ian Reyes Rosello, Alice Reyes Rosello, Christopher L. Soto Perez, Liddiannis Mendret Perez, and Valentino Soto, each of whom brought him great pride and happiness.

David’s life was a reflection of love, loyalty, and joy. He will be remembered for his humor, his gentle nature, and the way he made others feel valued and appreciated. His memory will live on in the hearts of his family and all who had the privilege of knowing him.

In the minors he played with the Quincy Cubs, San Antonio Missions, Wichita Aeros and Portland Beavers.

Peppino Mazzullo obit

Peppino Mazzullo, Voice of Topo Gigio, the Italian Puppet on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show,’ Dies at 100

The actor helped bring out a warmer side of the famously wooden host in sketches from 1962-71. 

He was not on the list.

Peppino Mazzullo, the Italian actor who provided the voice for the mouse puppet Topo Gigio, best known for his frequent, funny appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, died Wednesday. He was 100.

Mazzullo died at his home in Santo Stefano di Briga, Italy, a village not far from his birthplace of Messina, the newspaper Il Messaggero reported.

Topo Gigio, 10 inches tall and created by Milan native Maria Perego, debuted on CBS’ The Ed Sullivan Show on Dec. 9, 1962, and he came back often through the legendary program’s conclusion on June 6, 1971.

Mazzullo and Topo Gigio got the famously stiff host to lighten up during their chats, exposing a different side of Sullivan to viewers, and the big-eared mouse closed each of his appearances with the line, “Eddie, kiss me goodnight.”

While Mazzullo did the voice, Perego controlled Topo Gigio’s legs with her fingers on one hand and opened and closed his mouth using rods with the other. Meanwhile, two other puppeteers operated his arms.

“When he’s on my arm, I actually feel that he’s a living thing and that I’m talking to somebody,” Sullivan said. “I’ve never had that feeling before with any puppet or dummy.”

Joan Rivers created sketches for Topo Gigio in what was her first paying job as a writer.

“I lay on the floor and wrote a sketch about this comic Italian puppet mouse, with a little Italian accent, who had become a semi-fad in America,” she once said. “I had him asking Ed Sullivan to explain football. I put Topo in a little football jersey that said ¼ on the back. Topo Gigio paid my car payments for six months. God bless that little lousy mouse.”

Born on June 6, 1926, Giuseppe Mazzullo started acting as a youngster in Santo Stefano, then attended the Academy of Cinematographic Art in Rome and the Academy of Dramatic Art in Milan.

He worked on radio shows as a member of the RAI drama troupe amid other acting assignments before he got a chance to voice Topo Gigio for the first time.

As he explained it, when he was 2, he “suddenly woke up and at the foot of my bed and saw a little figure moving. I got scared, I shouted ‘Mom!, but my voice wouldn’t come out. After a while, this ‘figure’ disappeared. My voice came back, my mom arrived, I told her what I had seen, and she reassured me: ‘Don’t worry, it’s a fuddittu, a little sprite, it will bring you luck.

“One day, Maria Perego and her husband, Federico Caldura, thought of a musical number with different characters. One of them looked just like that fuddittu. I got a shiver, it was also a pretty ugly puppet, but I picked it up, I liked it after all. Caldura suggested to me, ‘Try to give it a voice, who knows, maybe a nice character will come out of it.’ And immediately I got Topo Gigio’s voice.”

Before he knew it, he was playing the miniature hero in the 1961 adventure film The Magic World of Topo Gigio.

Mazzullo voiced the puppet through 2006. After retiring from performing, he founded the Piccolissimo Teatro di Messina, where he also taught acting.

His funeral is set for Thursday in the church of San Giovanni Battista in Santo Stefano di Briga.

Jorge Kahwagi obit

Jorge Kahwagi dies at 58: The extraordinary life of Mexico's boxer-turned-politician and reality star

 

He was not on the list.

Jorge Kahwagi Macari, the Mexican businessman who moved between politics, professional boxing and reality television in a public career unlike almost any other in the country, died Wednesday at 58.

His death was confirmed by Mexican Sen. Manuel Velasco, who served alongside Kahwagi in Mexico's Chamber of Deputies, and by actor and businessman Roberto Palazuelos. "I deeply regret the death of my friend Jorge Kahwagi Macari, with whom I served as a federal deputy in the LIX Legislature," Velasco wrote, offering condolences to his family and friends.

Palazuelos offered a more personal farewell. "Fly high, dear Jorge, just as you lived," he wrote. "God bless you always, my dear brother." Palazuelos also sent condolences to Kahwagi's mother, Sonja, and his sisters, Sonja and Layla.

Kahwagi's family has not publicly announced a cause of death. Mexican journalist Gustavo Adolfo Infante reported Wednesday on the television program "Sale el Sol" that Kahwagi died from a brain hemorrhage in Mexico City, but that account had not been independently confirmed by his relatives.

Born May 28, 1968, in Mexico City, Kahwagi was the son of businessman and media executive Jorge Kahwagi Gastine and Sonja Macari Chalhub. He studied law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and business administration at Universidad Iberoamericana.

But no degree or job title adequately explains the peculiar place Kahwagi eventually occupied in Mexican popular culture. At various points, he was a congressman, political party leader, businessman, professional boxer and reality television contestant. Sometimes those worlds collided.

Kahwagi entered the Chamber of Deputies as a member of the Green Party, or PVEM, during the LIX Legislature and became the party's parliamentary coordinator. He later left the PVEM and joined Nueva Alianza, where he held senior leadership positions. Official congressional records document his legislative work, including proposals involving government administration and citizen participation.

Then, in 2004, while serving as a federal deputy, Kahwagi walked into the house of "Big Brother VIP."

His decision became national news and generated criticism in Congress. Contemporary reports said Kahwagi entered the reality show after requesting a temporary leave that had not yet been approved by the Chamber of Deputies. He ultimately finished third in the season, behind Sergio Mayer and winner Roxana Castellanos.

And then there was boxing. Kahwagi began fighting professionally in 2001, an unusual pursuit for a wealthy businessman already moving toward a political career. In 2004, he won a WBC Latino cruiserweight title after defeating Dwayne Swift. His professional record ultimately stood at 12 victories, all by knockout, according to Mexican media accounts of his career.

His boxing career was also controversial, with critics questioning the quality of some opponents and the circumstances surrounding some bouts. The scrutiny intensified when he returned to the ring in 2015 after roughly a decade away and stopped Ramón Olivas in the Philippines in about 40 seconds.

By then, Kahwagi had become as recognizable for his celebrity persona as for any single profession. In later years, however, he largely disappeared from the public life that had once made him a fixture of Mexican television and entertainment coverage.

In 2019, Kahwagi disclosed that he had suffered a perforated gastric ulcer and bacterial infection. "My ulcer burst, but thank God He allowed me to keep bothering all of you here," he wrote at the time. His public appearances became increasingly rare afterward. There is currently no confirmed medical information connecting those previous health problems to his death.

Kahwagi's death also comes during an extraordinarily difficult year for his family.

His father, Jorge Kahwagi Gastine, the businessman who headed Grupo Crónica, died March 23 at 85, just over six months before his son. For much of his adult life, Jorge Kahwagi Macari seemed determined not to remain in any single lane.

He went from the halls of Mexico's Congress to boxing rings, from political leadership to one of the country's biggest reality shows. His boxing record generated debate. His political decisions generated headlines. His celebrity made him instantly recognizable even to Mexicans who had little interest in either politics or boxing.

That combination made him one of the more unconventional figures in Mexican public life during the 2000s.

On Wednesday, Palazuelos' goodbye captured that larger-than-life reputation in just a few words.

"Fly high, dear Jorge," he wrote, "just as you lived."

Tay Baker obit

Cincinnati Athletics Mourns the Passing of Tay Baker

Baker, who led the basketball Bearcats from 1965-72, passed away Tuesday 

He was not on the list.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Athletics mourns the passing of former men’s basketball head coach and student-athlete Taylor “Tay” Baker, who died surrounded by his family on Tuesday.

A 1996 inductee into the James P. Kelly Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame, Baker was sixth man on the 1948, 1949 and 1950 basketball teams that compiled a 60-18 record and won three Mid-American Conference titles, before returning as an assistant coach in 1959, helping Ed Jucker’s Bearcats to four Final Fours and back-to-back NCAA titles in 1961 and 1962.

He went on to succeed Jucker as head coach in 1965, leading his first team to the Missouri Valley Conference title and an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He went on to compile a 125-60 record in seven seasons as head coach of the Bearcats. Baker and his 1965-66 Bearcats’ team were inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

“Tay Baker represented the very best of Cincinnati Athletics and leaves behind an incredible legacy as both a Bearcats player and coach,” Director of Athletics John Cunningham said. “He was part of one of the greatest eras in our history, first as a student-athlete and later helping lead Cincinnati to national championships and tremendous success as a coach. I was fortunate to get to know Tay and spend time with many of the Bearcats he coached, and his pride in this university and the relationships he built here never faded. Our entire Bearcats family mourns his passing, and our thoughts are with his family, friends, former players and teammates.”

Baker later went on to coach at Xavier, helping the team achieve its first winning season in 12 years during his third year as head coach.

Baker was born on September 24, 1927. He played basketball at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, graduating in 1945. He played college basketball for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, beginning as a freshman in 1947. After only three games, he began an 18-month stint in the U.S. Army. Returning to Cincinnati, he was a top reserve for the first two Bearcats teams to win 20 games: 23–5 in 1949 and, as a senior, 20–6 in 1950. The Bearcats were champions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in each season from 1948-1950.

After graduating, Baker worked as a teacher and coach at three southwestern Ohio high schools—first at Lebanon High School, then Wyoming High School and Miamisburg High School.

In 1959, he returned to Cincinnati as an assistant coach under coach George Smith, a post he retained the next season when Smith became the athletic director and Ed Jucker took over as head coach. After an assistant coaching career that included four Final Fours and two NCAA championships for the Bearcats, Baker succeeded Jucker as head coach in 1965.

His first team, in 1965–66, won the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) title and played in the NCAA Tournament, where they were defeated 78-76 in overtime by eventual national champion Texas Western (now UTEP), which famously was the first team to win the title starting five African-American players. Baker's Bearcats retuned to the postseason again in 1970, losing in the first round of the NIT to Bob Knight's Army team. After posting a 17–9 record in 1971–72, Baker resigned as UC coach. In seven seasons coaching the Bearcats, Baker posted a record of 125–60.

 

Playing career

1947–1950      Cincinnati

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1959–1965      Cincinnati (assistant)

1965–1972      Cincinnati

1973–1979      Xavier

Head coaching record

Overall            195–149

Tournaments    0–1 (NCAA Division I)

0–1 (NIT)

Accomplishments and honors

Awards

MVC Coach of the Year (1966)

James Rosenfield obit

James Rosenfield, Former Top Executive at CBS, Dies at 97

Mentored by William S. Paley, he served as president of the CBS Television Network and executive vp of the CBS Broadcast Group.

 He was not on the list.

James Rosenfield, who served as president of the CBS Television Network and executive vp of the CBS Broadcast Group during his two decades with the company, died Saturday, his family announced. He was 97.

Rosenfield, who started out in sales at CBS in 1965, was named president of the network, in charge of affiliated stations, in 1977 and then executive vp of the CBS Broadcast Group, with responsibility for the network, CBS News, CBS Entertainment and CBS Sports, in 1981.

During his tenure, CBS became a cultural powerhouse that brought audiences such groundbreaking programs as All in the Family, M*A*S*H and 60 Minutes, and he counted Walter Cronkite, Morley Safer, Dan Rather, Lesley Stahl and Mike Wallace as friends as well as colleagues.

After he retired from CBS in 1985, Rosenfield became chairman and CEO of John Blair Communications, a national sales representative for local TV stations. And in 1999, he founded JHR & Associates, which advised traditional and digital media as well as communications and entertainment companies.

Born in Boston on July 18, 1929, Rosenfield attended the Roxbury Latin School in his hometown before graduating in 1952 from Dartmouth College, where he was a student DJ with his own radio program, “Rhodes Record Rack.”

After serving in the military and a job in sales at NBC, Rosenfield joined CBS and was mentored by network founder William S. Paley, who picked him to oversee CBS’ sales relationship with Grey Advertising. The early assignment helped propel his rise through the company.

Rosenfield “was steeped in the world of media and advertising during its storied Mad Men era and delighted in regaling his family with stories from those years,” his family noted. “A favorite involved standing at the bar at New York’s famous 21 Club, where on any given evening executives representing all three major broadcast networks might be gathered; competitors by day and members of the same small, colorful media world after hours.”

Rosenfield also was a founding board member and chairman emeritus of Reisenbach Philanthropies, dedicated to creating “a better and safer New York City”; president of the International Radio & Television Society; chairman of the Advertising Council; and a lifetime fellow of the international council at the Television Academy.

Survivors include his partner, Charlotte; his daughter, Laurie, and son-in-law, Peter; his son, Jim Jr., and his wife, Dana; his grandchildren, Jamie, Kitt, Kristen, Kerrin and Kendall; and five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife of 57 years, Nancy, and his brother, Allan.

A funeral service is set for 11 a.m. on Wednesday at Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York. Donations in his memory can be made to Reisenbach Philanthropies.