Chuck Amato obit

Former NC State football head coach Chuck Amato passes away at 80

Chuck Amato, a former NC State head coach and the only coach to lead the Wolfpack to double-digit wins in a single season, has passed away at the age of 80 after a long battle with throat cancer.

 

He was not on the list.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Former NC State football coach and Wolfpack legend Chuck Amato has passed away at the age of 80. The legendary Wolfpack coach previously battled with throat cancer and passed away after being in hospice care for several months.

Amato served as the NC State head coach for seven years, four of which were with Philip Rivers as the quarterback. He reached five bowl games in those seven seasons, finishing with a 49-37 (25-31 ACC) overall record and earning four bowl wins. His best year with the Wolfpack was in 2002, when he helped guide the Wolfpack to an 11-3 record and a Gator Bowl victory over Notre Dame.

During his time in Raleigh, Amato helped the Wolfpack get 20-plus players drafted to the NFL, including first-round selections like Rivers, Mario Williams, Manny Lawson and John McCargo. Williams was the only player in Wolfpack history to go No. 1 overall in the modern era of the NFL after a breakout season with the Wolfpack under Amato's defense in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Known by Wolfpack faithful as "Chuck the Chest," Amato was a larger than life personality for the Wolfpack during his time. His time in Raleigh produced several legendary players in the red and white, but also saw assistant coaches like National Champion Curt Cignetti, ACC Champion Manny Diaz, C-USA Champion Doc Holliday, NFL head coach Marc Trestman, Norm Chow and several others go on to have head coaching careers.

Prior to his coaching days with the Wolfpack, Amato played linebacker for NC State under legendary head coach Earle Edwards from 1965-67. Amato was a captain for the defense as a senior in 1967 and won multiple ACC Championships as a wrestler at heavyweight, going undefeated in 1966 and 1968.

He then returned to the Pack to get his start in coaching as a grad assistant under Al Michaels and Lou Holtz, eventually serving as a defensive backs coach under Holtz and a defensive coordinator with Bo Rein until 1979.

Amato then went on to coach at Arizona for two seasons before starting a long stint with Florida State under another legendary head coach in Bobby Bowden. The two worked together for nearly two decades from 1982 through 1999, with Amato coaching the defensive line for four seasons before taking over as the associate head coach and coaching either the defensive line or linebackers until he left for NC State prior to the 2000 season.

Following his coaching career that ended at Akron in 2017, Amato returned home to Raleigh and hosted The Chuck Amato Show from Amedeo's prior to our live shows in the same room. Amato was truly a 1-of-1 personality and changed a room when he walked into it. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Peggy, his daughters, LuGina and Selena, and the entire Amato family. He was beloved by the NC State family and no one will ever replace that legendary raspy voice that roamed the Wolfpack sidelines.

 

Playing career

1965–1967      NC State

Position           Linebacker

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1969–1970      Easton Area HS (PA) (assistant)

1971–1972      NC State (GA)

1973–1975      NC State (DB)

1976–1979      NC State (DC/LB)

1980–1981      Arizona (LB)

1982–1985      Florida State (DL)

1986–1995      Florida State (AHC/DL)

1996–1999      Florida State (AHC/LB)

2000–2006      NC State

2007–2009      Florida State (assoc. HC/LB)

2012–2017      Akron (AHC/DC)

Head coaching record

Overall            49–37

Bowls  4–1

Kenneth Atchity obit

Kenneth John Atchity

January 16, 1944 – October 19, 2026

Kenneth John Atchity passed on October 19, 2026, at the age of 82. 

He was not on the list.

Kenneth John Atchity (January 16, 1944 – October 19, 2026) was an American producer, author, columnist, book reviewer and professor of comparative literature.

After receiving a Jesuit education from Rockhurst High School and Georgetown University, where he was a member of the Philodemic Society and received an Ignatian Scholarship to study Greek and Latin classics, Atchity received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to Yale and received his MPhil in Theater History and his Ph.D. Comparative Literature from Yale. His dissertation, Homer's Iliad: The Shield of Memory, was awarded the John Addison Porter Prize.

He went on to become a professor of literature and classics at Occidental College, where he served as the chairman of the comparative literature department, distinguished instructor at UCLA's Writers Program, and as Fulbright Professor of American studies to the University of Bologna. During his teaching career, he was a frequent columnist for The Los Angeles Times Book Review.

His articles on English and American literature have appeared in the following publications: American Quarterly, Comparative Literature Studies, Kenyon Review, Philological Quarterly; on Italian literature in Italian Quarterly, Spicilegio Moderno,

In addition to the Los Angeles Times Book Review, his reviews have appeared in Folio, The Huffington Post, New Haven Register, San Francisco Chronicle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Washington Post.

In 1976, Atchity founded L/A House, Inc., a consulting, translation, book, television, film development, and production company whose clients included the Getty Museum and the US Postal Service. L/A House began by extending Atchity's teaching of creative writing to manuscript consultation and soon moved on to publishing with the production of Follies, a magazine covering creativity, and CQ: Contemporary Quarterly; Poetry and Art of which he was editor. In the 1980s L/A House moved into television, with a syndicated television pilot of BreakThrough! of which Atchity was executive producer and co-writer.

In 1985, L/A House began development of a set of video/TV romance film projects entitled Shades of Love, which became 16 full-length films, produced in 1986–87 with Atchity as executive producer, that aired throughout the world, distributed by Lorimar, Astral-Bellevue-Pathe, Manson International, and Warner Brothers International, nominated for Canada's Gemini Award; in the U.S. they premiered on Cinemax-HBO.

In 1989, he sold L/A House and founded AEI (Atchity Editorial/Entertainment International), a literary management and motion picture production company. Atchity sold Steve Alten’s Meg to Bantam-Doubleday at auction in a $2.2M deal; and then to Disney, partnered with Zide-Perry, for $1.2 (later, to Newline Pictures for a similar price). Incorporated in 1996, its name was changed to Atchity Entertainment International, Inc. in 2005.

In 1996, he founded The Writer's Lifeline (incorporated in 2002). In 2006, he and manager-partner Fred Griffin (of Houston's Griffin Partners), along with a group of investors from Louisiana and Texas, acquired The Louisiana Wave Studio, LLC in Shreveport, Louisiana from Walt Disney Productions. The LWS is the only tank specifically designed to make waves for motion pictures in North America. Films produced at the LWS include The Guardian, Mayday—Bering Sea, Shark Night 3D, Streets of Blood, and I Love You, Philip Morris; along with numerous government and industrial films.

In 2011, Atchity was nominated for an Emmy for producing The Kennedy Detail (Discovery) based on their clients' Jerry Blaine and Lisa McCubbin's New York Times bestselling book by the same title published by Gallery/Simon & Schuster in 2010.

AEI's films include Joe Somebody (Tim Allen, Julie Bowen), Life Or Something Like It (Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns), and The MEG (Jason Statham).

In 2010, Atchity also founded Atchity Productions and Story Merchant.

In 2012, Atchity published his completion of William Diehl's Seven Ways to Die and his first solo novel, The Messiah Matrix. The novel centers on a fictional marine archaeological find of a rare Herodian coin honoring Augustus. A romantic interest develops between the American archaeologist who has discovered the coin, and a young Jesuit priest intrigued by its implications. A powerful faction of the Jesuits has been preparing to announce that the fictional character Jesus of Nazareth was inspired by the life of Caesar Augustus, and the coin is crucial evidence for their claim.

Producer

The Seeding

producer

Pre-production

 

The Book of Leah

producer

Post-production

 

Hatcher: The Search for Thai Horse

executive producer

Pre-production

 

Mr. Irrelevant

producer

Pre-production

 

Gambino

executive producer

Filming

 

Jason Statham in Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

Meg 2: The Trench

5.0

associate producer (as Ken Atchity)

2023

 

The Meg (2018)

The Meg

5.7

associate producer (as Ken Atchity)

2018

 

Angels in the Snow (2015)

Angels in the Snow

5.7

TV Movie

executive producer (as Ken Atchity)

2015

 

Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko in Erased (2012)

Erased

6.0

production executive

2012

 

14 Days with Alzheimer's (2011)

14 Days with Alzheimer's

5.8

Short

executive producer

2011

 

Hugh Dancy and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Hysteria (2011)

Hysteria

6.7

executive producer (as Ken Atchity)

2011

 

Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kenneth Atchity, and Betty White in The Lost Valentine (2011)

The Lost Valentine

7.5

TV Movie

co-producer

2011

 

The Kennedy Detail (2010)

The Kennedy Detail

8.0

TV Movie

executive producer (as Ken Atchity)

2010

 

Angela Bassett, Danny Glover, Giancarlo Esposito, and Julia Stiles in Gospel Hill (2008)

Gospel Hill

5.5

associate producer

2008

 

Texas Battle and Alexandra Merejo in Hitting the Bricks (2008)

Hitting the Bricks

producer

2008

 

Dominique Swain, Ellen Burstyn, and Annabella Sciorra in The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel (2004)

The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel

5.7

TV Movie

executive producer

2004

 

Angelina Jolie and Edward Burns in Life or Something Like It (2002)

Life or Something Like It

5.8

executive producer (as Ken Atchity)

2002

 

Tim Allen in Joe Somebody (2001)

Joe Somebody

5.6

producer (as Ken Atchity)

2001

 

Veronica Hamel and Jack Scalia in Shadow of Obsession (1994)

Shadow of Obsession

6.5

TV Movie

co-producer

1994

 

Falling Over Backwards (1990)

Falling Over Backwards

5.7

executive producer

1990

 

Little White Lies (1989)

Little White Lies

6.0

TV Movie

executive producer

1989

 

Brandy Gold in Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes (1989)

Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes

4.4

TV Movie

associate producer (as Ken Atchity)

1989

 

Shades of Love: Midnight Magic (1988)

Shades of Love: Midnight Magic

5.3

TV Movie

executive producer

1988

 

Duncan Regehr and Linda E. Smith in Shades of Love: Little White Lies (1988)

Shades of Love: Little White Lies

7.4

TV Movie

executive producer

1988

 

Shades of Love: The Emerald Tear

5.1

TV Movie

executive producer

1988

 

Marshall Colt and Roberta Weiss in Shades of Love: Tangerine Taxi (1988)

Shades of Love: Tangerine Taxi

6.4

TV Movie

executive producer

1988

 

Christopher Cazenove and Rebecca Dewey in Shades of Love: The Man Who Guards the Greenhouse (1988)

Shades of Love: The Man Who Guards the Greenhouse

7.2

TV Movie

executive producer

1988

 

Elizabeth Bellm and Ted Wass in Shades of Love: Sunset Court (1988)

Shades of Love: Sunset Court

5.6

TV Movie

executive producer

1988

 

Shades of Love: Indigo Autumn (1988)

Shades of Love: Indigo Autumn

6.5

TV Movie

executive producer

1988

 

Shades of Love: Moonlight Flight

7.8

TV Movie

executive producer

1988

 

Greg Evigan and Patty Talbot in Shades of Love: Echoes in Crimson (1987)

Shades of Love: Echoes in Crimson

5.5

TV Movie

executive producer

1987

 

Tamara Chaplin and Rex Smith in Shades of Love: The Ballerina and the Blues (1987)

Shades of Love: The Ballerina and the Blues

7.0

TV Movie

producer

1987

 

Liliane Clune and Jean Leclerc in Shades of Love: The Garnet Princess (1987)

Shades of Love: The Garnet Princess

7.3

TV Movie

executive producer

1987

 

Kirsten Bishop and Nicholas Campbell in Shades of Love: Champagne for Two (1987)

Shades of Love: Champagne for Two

6.4

Video

executive producer

1987

 

Simon MacCorkindale and Patricia Phillips in Shades of Love: Sincerely, Violet (1987)

Shades of Love: Sincerely, Violet

6.1

Video

executive producerproducer: Cinemax-HBO

1987

 

Parker Stevenson and Linda E. Smith in Shades of Love: The Rose Cafe (1987)

Shades of Love: The Rose Cafe

6.1

TV Movie

executive producerproducer: Cinemax-HBO

1987

 

Shades of Love: Lilac Dream (1987)

Shades of Love: Lilac Dream

5.4

Video

executive producer

1987

 

Joseph Bottoms and Catherine Colvey in Shades of Love: Make Mine Chartreuse (1987)

Shades of Love: Make Mine Chartreuse

6.9

TV Movie

executive producer

1987

 

Actor

The Book of Leah

Official Announcer

Post-production

 

Bulletproof Screenwriting Show (2018)

Bulletproof Screenwriting Show

TV Series

2018

 

Angels in the Snow (2015)

Angels in the Snow

5.7

TV Movie

Mourner (uncredited)

2015

 

Hugh Dancy and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Hysteria (2011)

Hysteria

6.7

Passing Butcher (uncredited)

2011

 

Dominique Swain, Ellen Burstyn, and Annabella Sciorra in The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel (2004)

The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel

5.7

TV Movie

Roulette Player

2004

 

Tim Allen in Joe Somebody (2001)

Joe Somebody

5.6

Jesse Ventura's Bodyguard (uncredited)

2001

 

Elizabeth Bellm and Ted Wass in Shades of Love: Sunset Court (1988)

Shades of Love: Sunset Court

5.6

TV Movie

Artist in the park

1988

 

Liliane Clune and Jean Leclerc in Shades of Love: The Garnet Princess (1987)

Shades of Love: The Garnet Princess

7.3

TV Movie

Fashion journalist

1987

 

Joseph Bottoms and Catherine Colvey in Shades of Love: Make Mine Chartreuse (1987)

Shades of Love: Make Mine Chartreuse

6.9

TV Movie

Bartender

1987

 

Writer

The Seeding

Writer

Pre-production

 

Angels in the Snow (2015)

Angels in the Snow

5.7

TV Movie

based on a story by (as Ken Atchity)

2015

 

Thanks

Birdbath (2013)

Birdbath

7.6

special thanks

2013

 

Concert (2011)

Concert

special thanks

2011

 

Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, and Ayelet Zurer in Adam Resurrected (2008)

Adam Resurrected

6.2

thanks

2008

 

Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol (1999)

Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol

6.1

TV Movie

with thanks to

1999

 

Self

Mr. Irrelevant

Self - Producer

Pre-production

 

The Entertainment Engine (2020)

The Entertainment Engine

Podcast Series

Self - Guest

2020

1 episode

 

Actors Entertainment (2009)

Actors Entertainment

7.4

TV Series

Self

2011–2012

2 episodes

 

Comedy Lab (1998)

Comedy Lab

5.2

TV Series

Self - Literary Agent

2000

1 episode

Mr. Whitekeys obit

Mr. Whitekeys, famous Alaskan entertainer, dies at 79

Mr. Whitekeys — aka Douglas Haggar — was famous for music, comedy, writing and performances where he skewed politicos and well known Alaskans

 

He was not on the list.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Mr. Whitekeys, whose legal name was Douglas Haggar, has died.

He was 79.

“We leave you with what Mr. Whitekeys said at the end of every show: live a life filled with peace, love, and Spam; do something to make the word a better place; and be sure to tip your waitress,” friends wrote on his official Facebook page, Mr. Whitekeys presents: The Whalefat Follies.

His wife, Judith, confirmed his death Monday afternoon.

Longtime friend and artist Duke Russell wrote in an email, “I admired his wit and wisdom. He contributed greatly in identifying the life up here that so many reality shows miss.”

For years Mr. Whitekeys entertained Alaskans with his music, comedy, writing and performances where politicos and well-known Alaskans would be skewered during his performances.

Mr. Whitekeys moved to Alaska and immediately “began playing piano in sleazy bars,” according to his write up on the University of Alaska, Anchorage website.

“He has described his chosen profession as ‘mouthing off and making snotty comments,’ and his writings have appeared in an Anchorage Daily News column, Alaska Bizarre—a comedy print version of The Whale Fat Follies, humorous contributions to The Alaska Almanac, a monthly column in Alaska Magazine, and weekly satirical newscast commentary on Anchorage’s KTUU-TV.”

From 1980 to 2006, Mr. Whitekeys owned and operated The Fly By Night Club in Anchorage’s Spenard neighborhood. It was celebrated as a mecca for “Spam, Booze, Rhythm, and Blues”.

“If you would like make a donation in his memory, some of the groups he supported and fundraised for over the years include Audubon Society, Food Bank of Alaska, and Great Land Trust. Or he would love it if you helped his Spenard neighbor Duke Russell in his Herculean efforts to feed Anchorage’s homeless,” friends wrote on Facebook.

Ann Hornaday obit

Ann Hornaday, Longtime Washington Post Film Critic, Dies at 66

Hornaday was the author of the 2017 book 'Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies.'

 She was not on the list.

Ann Hornaday, the longtime film critic at The Washington Post and author, died Sunday. She was 66.

Hornaday died at her home in North Baltimore after a battle with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, her husband Dennis Greenia told the Baltimore Banner.

A much-loved and respected film critic, Hornaday was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for criticism in 2008.

Born March 9, 1960, in Iowa City, Iowa, Hornaday grew up in Des Moines. She graduated from Smith College in 1982 with a degree in government and later moved to New York. She freelanced for Premiere, Us and worked at the feminist publication Ms. Magazine, and became co-founder Gloria Steinem’s administrative assistant.

After taking a journalism fellowship in Athens, Georgia, where she met her husband, Hornaday would go on to work at various newspapers, including the Austin American-Statesman and The Baltimore Sun, before joining The Washington Post in 2002, replacing previous critic Rita Kempley.

At the Post she became a national figure in film criticism writing hundreds of reviews, and was known for her accessible reviews that were free of pretension. During her run as a prominent critic, she also appeared on WYPR’s Midday at the Movies program. She left the Post in 2025 after taking a buyout.

In 2017, she wrote the book Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies, a practical guide for movie lovers on how to appreciate cinema and improve film literacy. Hornaday had also completed a book about the production of Alan J. Pakula’s classic 1976 political thriller All the President’s Men. That book is set to be published posthumously in 2028.

Hornaday is survived by her husband Dennis, daughters Victoria and Leila, and brother William.

John Beake obit

Broncos mourn passing of former GM and two-time Super Bowl champion John Beake

 He was not on the list.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos have lost a pivotal figure in the franchise's history.

Former general manager John Beake, who helped guide the Broncos to a pair of world championships and five Super Bowl appearances, has passed away. He was 87 years old.

"The Broncos are saddened by the passing of longtime executive John Beake, who made an enduring impact on our organization during more than two decades with the team," the organization said in a statement. "John helped guide the Broncos to five Super Bowl appearances, including back-to-back World Championships, and was a respected leader throughout one of the most successful eras in franchise history. Following his time in Denver, he remained an influential figure through his work with the NFL and on the Broncos Ring of Fame Committee. Our deepest condolences are with his wife, Marcia, his sons, Chip and Chris, and the entire Beake family."

The Broncos' general manager for 14 years, Beake served in the role during the Broncos' Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII victories. He also guided the team's front office during three Super Bowl appearances in the 1980s, and he helped craft teams that won seven division titles and made 12 playoff appearances across his tenure.

Beake began his 22-year tenure with the organization in 1979 and held multiple personnel roles — including director of pro personnel and director of player personnel — before assuming the role of general manager. In 1983, Beake helped to trade for future Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, who would become the winningest quarterback in franchise history.

At the end of his Broncos tenure in 2000, Beake transitioned into a role as the Broncos' vice president of administration. He then joined the NFL's league office as the vice president of player development and the managing director of NFL Europe's football operations. In 2002, he advanced to vice president of football development and operations.

In the years after his retirement, Beake was a longtime member of the Broncos' Ring of Fame committee, helping to elect players to the franchise's highest honor.

Prior to his time in Denver, Beake coached for both the Kansas City Chiefs (1968-74) and the New Orleans Saints (1976-1977). With both franchises, he worked as an offensive assistant to Pro Football Hall of Famer Hank Stram. While in Kansas City, Beake earned his first world championship title via a Super Bowl IV win. When his Broncos later won Super Bowl XXXII, he became the first upper-level administrator to earn Super Bowl titles as both an administrator and coach, according to the NFL.

Beake also served as the offensive coordinator at Colorado State University for a season; worked as an assistant football coach and head basketball coach for New York Military Academy; and led Nyack (N.Y.) High School to three league championships as head coach.

A New Jersey native, Beake graduated from Long Branch (N.J.) High School in 1957 and lettered in football, baseball and track. He was a four-time letter winner in football at Trenton (N.J.) State College before earning a master's degree from Penn State University. He was inducted into the Trenton State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982.

All told, Beake — a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Broncos — worked in the NFL for more than 30 years and spent four-plus decades in football roles.

Beake is survived by his wife, Marcia; his children, Chip and Chris; and his grandchildren, Colin, Giselle, Jack, Emilie, Madeline, Vivienne and Pau. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Jerilyn.

 

Career information

College            Trenton State College

Pennsylvania State University

Career history

Coaching

Penn State (1962)

Graduate assistant

New York Military Academy (1963)

Assistant coach

Nyack High School (1964–1967)

Head coach

Kansas City Chiefs (1968–1974)

Offensive backfield coach

Colorado State (1975)

Offensive coordinator

New Orleans Saints (1976–1977)

Offensive backfield coach

Operations

Denver Broncos (1979–1980)

Director of pro personnel

Denver Broncos (1981–1983)

Director of player personnel

Denver Broncos (1984)

Assistant general manager

Denver Broncos (1985–1998)

General manager

Denver Broncos (1999–2000)

Vice president of administration

NFL Europe (2001–2003)

Managing director of football operations

Awards and highlights

3× Super Bowl champion (IV, XXXII, XXXIII)

Sam Noto obit

Sam Noto Has Died

 He was not on the list.

Of Buffalo, NY, entered into rest on October 16, 2026. Beloved husband of the late Arleen Christian-Noto; devoted father of Michael John (late Charlene Smith-Noto) Noto, Christopher James (Misao Mori) Noto, Andrew Jeremy Noto, Jennifer Jean (Richard) Greene; cherished grandfather of Brian Whitehead, Christopher (Alley Kat) Hughes, Andrew Noto Jr, Camryn Noto, Gianna Greene, Brady Greene, and Christian Greene; adored great-grandfather of Michael, Elle, Lorelai, River, and Dean; dear son of the late Louis and Santina (nee Territo) Noto; caring brother of the late Bill (Virginia) Noto, Joseph (Marge) Noto, Roseanne (Sam) Cicero, and Charles (Ann) Noto; also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, family, and friends. Private Services. Sam was a world-renowned Jazz Musician who specialized in playing the trumpet and played for countless years including the bands Stan Kenton Orchestra/Count Basie and Woody Herman and countless others. Also had solo albums that were released in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. He was a proud veteran of The United States Army.

Sam Noto was an acclaimed jazz trumpeter and bop soloist. Noto has worked throughout North America with some of the biggest names, and best bands in jazz, including Stan Kenton, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Red Rodney, Don Menza, Joe Romano, Louie Bellson, Frank Rossolino, and Mel Lewis to name a few.

Noto was invited to join Stan Kenton’s Orchestra as lead trumpeter while still in his early 20’s,  and played with Kenton full-time until 1958, and again in 1960 after a year-long stint touring Europe with Louie Bellson and Pearl Baily in 1959. He was also a member of the count Basie Orchrstra for two separate period between 1964 and 1967.

Sam worked primarily in Las Vegas after 1969, until relocating to Toronto in 1975. It was while living and working in Vegas, he became acquainted with trumpeter, Red Rodney who was influential in Noto’s prolific recording career with Xanadu.

While living in Toronto, Noto quickly became a first-call studio player, and member of Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass for a number of years in the ’80s. Sam also established his own bandstands and concert stages throughout Toronto in the ’90s and early 2000s. Noto now lives in Fort Erie, Ontario, and continues to play in and around the Toronto ares, as well as closer to home in Buffalo, N.Y. jazz clubs.

Jack Berry obit

Jack Berry, legendary Detroit News and Free Press sports writer, dies at 95

Jack Berry was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, and was honored by the PGA of America and the Masters.

 He was not on the list.

Jack Berry never did learn how to swim. He liked to refer to himself as the world's No. 1 aquaphobe. The fear dated back to his Boy Scout days, when he fell into the Middle Rouge River.

That fear, though, never kept him from the golf course, where he made his mark … and, yes, some big numbers, too.

"My ball," he once quipped in his 80s, "had an instinct for water."

Berry, a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame who was a sports writer in Detroit for decades, including long stints at both the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, died Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, at a rehab facility in West Bloomfield Township, following a recent fall at his Northville apartment, according to a social media post by the Hall of Fame.

Berry's wife, Bonnie, confirmed Berry's death to The News. Berry celebrated his 95th birthday earlier this month.

Berry was a sports writer at The Detroit News from 1971 until his retirement in 1993, and he chronicled some of sports' most iconic moments, including Team USA's "Miracle on Ice" gold-medal performance in men's hockey at the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid, and Secretariat's Triple Crown in 1973.

Before joining The News, Berry wrote for the crosstown rival, the Detroit Free Press, from 1959-71. During his tenure there, he covered the Red Wings, Michigan State football and winter sports, including skiing and ski jumping.

Berry got his professional start in sports writing at the Detroit bureau of United Press International, covering the Tigers, Lions, Red Wings and Pistons, as well as Michigan football, high schools and small colleges. At UPI, Berry covered the Lions' last NFL championship, in 1957.

At UPI, he also covered the first Buick Open, the PGA Tour's stop in Grand Blanc that ran from 1958 until 2009. That set Berry on a long and distinguished career in golf writing, one that lasted long into his official retirement. Berry covered golf for both the Free Press and The News and he loved to play the sport almost as much as he loved writing about it, even if he was much better at one than the other. Legend has it that Rick Smith, in designing the par-3 course at Treetops in Gaylord in the early 1990s, used Berry as a guinea pig to test where he should put the shorter tees.

"Jack was gifted with the pen, but not necessarily with the golf club," west Michigan golf writer Terry Moore, Berry's longtime friend and colleague, said with a laugh. "But he played briskly and he knew about etiquette.

"He didn't play well all the time, but he did play with dispatch, as he would say."

Berry was a master at picking up — he'd pick up when out of a hole, always cognizant of pace of play, and he'd pick up trash on the course that had been left behind by other groups. Berry played in a nine-hole league into his 90s, and he would still walk the course when he could. Until very recently, he still was working on his putting.

For all the big sporting events he covered — including the Tigers' 1968 World Series championship, the Indy 500, the Rose Bowl, the Miami Dolphins' perfect season in the 1970s, Muhammad Ali's TKO of Al Lewis in Dublin in 1972 — it was the golf that Berry loved the most, because, as he once wrote, golf was "a game for life."

Berry covered all of golf's major championships, including 43 Masters. His golf-writing career spanned from the end of Ben Hogan's playing days to the heyday of Tiger Woods' career. He covered wins by Jack Nicklaus (including his Masters win in 1986, at age 46), Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros. He covered several Ryder Cups, including Team Europe's rout of the United States at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township in 2004. Berry once said the Ryder Cup was better than the Super Bowl, "No contest."

Berry also covered the local golf scene better than any of his predecessors or his successors, treating a local U.S. Open qualifier or the Michigan Open with as much fervor and passion of the final round at Augusta or Pebble Beach. Berry collected so much content, The Detroit News gave him his own golf page in its print edition.

"He covered all the beats," said Moore, who co-founded Michigan Golfer magazine in 1983, and made Berry one of his first hires, knowing that getting Berry's name on the magazine's masthead would give the newborn publication some instant credibility. "Us young reporters and writers always admired Jack's energy and diligence in covering the beat.

"My small role in Michigan golf is probably due to Jack Berry's mentoring and guidance. I learned so much from Jack."

With a quick wit and straight-shooting style of asking questions, Berry could interview anybody and put them at ease — from the local club pro to the greats of the game. And he was as versatile and professional as any sports writer in Michigan and Detroit history, said Lynn Henning, Berry's longtime colleague at The Detroit News. Berry was a throwback to an era where news men and women were to report the news, not be the news.

Berry also wrote clean copy, and he wrote it fast — faster, Henning said, than anybody but perhaps the late Joe Falls, his colleague at the Free Press and The News.

"On an unforgiving deadline, he could give you 800 words in 20 minutes," Henning said of Berry on Saturday, Oct. 17.

"And they would be print-ready words."

Berry was one of the original founders of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 1982, and 21 years later, he became just the second journalist inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. It was one of many accolades throughout his decades in sports writing.

In 2007, the PGA of America presented him with its lifetime achievement, and in 2010, the Masters presented him with its major achievement award (that also came with a prime parking spot at that year's Masters, which he was most tickled about). The Golf Association of Michigan presented him with its distinguished service award in 1997. The Michigan Golf Course Owners Association presented him with a lifetime achievement award in 2008.

Berry was president of the Golf Writers Association of America from 1984-86, and secretary from 1990-98. During his tenure as president, he was influential in lifting the Masters' ban on female reporters in the locker room.

Outside of work, Berry loved a good meal, a glass of red wine, and running. He ran the 1988 New York City Marathon, two years after a cardiac incident suffered while covering The Players Championship nearly killed him. Berry loved concerts, plays and the symphony.

"Jack's personal fabric," said Henning, "was vast."

Berry was a proud "Girl Dad," survived by his four daughters, Anne, Susan, Karen and Jill. He also is survived by wife Bonnie Humm, as well as five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Berry was born Oct. 7, 1931, at Providence Hospital in Detroit, and attended Epiphany grammar school and Detroit Catholic Central High School, where he first learned how to swing a golf club. He grew up a big sports fan, particularly of the Detroit Tigers, for whom his father was the traveling secretary in the 1940s and 1950s. He attended games at Briggs Stadium and idolized Hank Greenberg.

Berry later attended Marquette University from 1949-51, before serving in the U.S. Army as a corporal from 1952-54. Berry returned to college on the G.I. Bill and earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State in 1956.

That's when his passion for sports reporting and writing was born, leading to a career in which, according to Henning, "He crafted one of the richest legacies of any sports writer in Detroit's press-box annals."

"My favorite colors are blue and green, blue sky and green grass. I've had my share of both," Berry wrote in his farewell column for The Detroit News in 1993, after which he continued to write for decades for various golf publications. "And in newspapering, my favorite thing has been to find out what's going on and write about it. Thanks for reading it."

Services for Berry haven't yet been finalized. They are expected to take place later this fall.

Noah Adams obit

Noah Adams, longtime host of NPR's All Things Considered, has died

 He was not on the list.

Noah Adams, a writer, broadcaster, and storyteller who hosted All Things Considered for 18 years, has died.

Adams died Friday at his home in Yellow Springs, Ohio, according to his wife, Neenah Ellis. He was 84.

He guided listeners through major events like Ronald Reagan's landslide electoral victories, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the September 11 terrorist attacks. But to the people who worked alongside him in the newsroom, Adams' journalism shone through in the softer features he reported.

Adams would ride trains across the country, or spend days in small towns talking to whoever he came across. He'd ask questions. He'd listen. He'd write down notes and observations. And then he'd produce long, thoughtful radio pieces that helped listeners understand and appreciate the world a little bit better.

"He was always observing," recalled Melissa Block, who produced pieces alongside Adams for years before hosting All Things Considered herself. "He would have a little reporter's notebook and he would be taking notes in shorthand. His writing is almost illegible – it would just be the vaguest sketches of things. But somehow, when we came back, he would capture the character of a place or a person or a town in the most vivid, rich, simple language. It was a complete picture based on his unbelievable powers of observation."

Adams, who was born in Kentucky, came to NPR in the mid-1970s, when the network was still new, and still figuring things out.

He was private - intensely private - but told people he'd bopped around a series of jobs before falling into radio. He worked construction. He sold cars, as he recounted once in an on-air essay. In 1972, he started working at the public radio station at the University of Kentucky. Three years later, he applied for a job as a production assistant on All Things Considered.

For years, the show's staff has begun each morning with a long meeting about the day's news, and what should and should not be included in the two-hour broadcast. Like all meetings, it can be rote or boring, and many staffers can, at times, view it with some cynicism.

Adams never saw it that way. "You would pay attention to all the mysteries out in the world," he once recalled in an NPR essay looking back at his career. "You'd have a deep curiosity about the yearning. You'd notice who was in trouble, why? What does Washington mean?"

Like most reporters, Adams yearned to get out of the newsroom and into the world. He tried to steer his reporting away from officials and politicians in Washington.

"He never liked talking to people who he knew had pre-programmed things to say," said Block. "He wanted people who were genuinely speaking from their heart and with conviction and sincerity. And that's how he was. That's how he approached things."

He'd also try to write and talk about dogs as much as possible, working them into scenes, and into interviews.

It's how Adams began one memorable interview in 1987. He was talking to an 8-year-old girl named Betsy Walter, whose parents had gotten divorced. To get her comfortable, he started chatting about dogs.

The approach stood out to the producer Adams was working with that night: a young Ira Glass. "It's the fastest, most efficient warm up of a child," Glass remembered years later. "He's not talking down to her. And then he just launches into the interview."

Adams was so good that day — at getting Betsy comfortable, at getting the quotes they wanted from the interview — that Glass took the tape of the full interview home with him, to save.

As Glass listened to the taping and studied Adams' approach, he realized how well and quickly Adams connected with the girl. How he framed his questions in just the right way, so the interview became a conversation that produced memorable quotes about the pain and confusion of divorce.

Over the years Glass would repeatedly cite Adams and his interviewing style as an inspiration for the feel and tone of the public radio program he'd go on to create: This American Life.

Glass admitted that as a young producer, he was intimidated by Adams and his quiet confidence. "You know, he was paired with [co-host] Susan Stamberg," Glass recalled. "And Susan Stamberg's character on the air, as the host of All Things Considered, was this warm, mensch-y, chatty New York lady. And he was this sort of cool, traditional broadcaster next to her."

A voice for rural America

In 1987, Adams left All Things Considered. Another public radio icon, Garrison Keillor, had walked away from A Prairie Home Companion, and Adams went to Minnesota to launch a new variety show to replace it. "I remember [thinking] wow, the nerve!" said Glass.

The variety show didn't work out, and two years later, Adams was back at All Things Considered, where he was paired alongside Robert Siegel and Linda Wertheimer.

The two men brought different experiences and views of the world to the show. "Noah was a voice for our going to rural America, doing stories about what was happening in small towns far from the Interstate 95 corridor," said Siegel.

"He was a productive writer," said Siegel. "He admired good writing and good writers. And he tried to be as good as he could be."

Adams wrote five books, including Piano Lessons (1996) a memoir about a year he spent learning to play the piano at age 51, Far Appalachia, Following the New River North (2001), and The Flyers: In Search of Wilbur & Orville Wright, (2003).

Adams' writing for the radio reached its peak, according to Siegel and many others, in an extraordinary 1981 radio documentary called "Father Cares: The Last of Jonestown."

Jim Jones, the head of the cult whose members eventually died by mass suicide in the jungle of Guyana, had recorded hundreds of hours of audio. NPR got its hands on it, and Adams, producer Deb Amos, and author James Reston, Jr. made it into an experimental documentary.

One aspect of it was controversial: Adams narrated it not as a journalist, but as a fictional composite character presented as a survivor of the cult. His delivery was purposely flat, and filled with trauma.

To Siegel, the documentary was NPR as Noah Adams wanted it to be: "Experimental use of sound. Interesting writing. I think he aspired to our not just having tomorrow's front page on tonight, but to have the rich back-page [features]" he said.

Adams helped shape NPR at a moment when the network's identity was still malleable. At a time when it wasn't quite a fully professionalized and institutionalized news gathering operation, Adams wanted the network to live up to the ideals formed during that era, says Melissa Block.

"To really capture the character of the country and the voices of everyone in their own style, in their own perspective, from their own perspective," she explained, "and to pay attention to things that were outside of the centers of power."

Quietly, purposefully, with his notebook and his typewriter, that's what Noah Adams did.

Gene Schwam obit

Gene Schwam, Hollywood Publicist to Elvis Presley, Judy Garland and Julie Andrews, Dies at 96

Schwam died Friday in Los Angeles following a brief illness.

 He was not on the list.

Gene Schwam, the veteran Hollywood publicist who worked with the likes of Elvis Presley, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Barbara Eden and Blake Edwards, has died. He was 96.

Schwam died Friday in Los Angeles following a brief illness.

In 1954, he was working with fellow publicist Stanley Cowan making $35 per week, when he decided to leave the company and found his own agency. Alongside Adeline Hanson, they opened Hanson & Schwam Public Relations in 1955.

The firm began by representing restaurants and musicians, though their roster quickly expanded into the wider entertainment industry. Nancy Wilson and Lou Rawls were among those represented by the agency, which additionally handled publicity for the Cocoanut Grove nightclub.

Schwam also worked with Lenny Bruce, Cyd Charisse and Gene Barry. His work with Andrews and Eden were central to his career as a publicist, and he formed a close friendship with Edwards; the publicist character in his 1981 film S.O.B. was inspired by Schwam.

He is also the creator of Humanity 101, an initiative of Arizona State University’s Project Humanities that promotes compassion, empathy, forgiveness, integrity, kindness, respect and self-reflection.

The veteran publicist reflected on his career in conversation with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Chris Gardner in April 2021, noting, “There’s a mistake people make when they think it’s about who you know in Hollywood, but it isn’t about that — it’s about who knows you.”

He also shared some secrets to success: “Begin with the end of the game and work your way backward,” Schwam said. “Figure out what it is that we want to do, such as win an Oscar, then we figure out how to get there.”

Schwam added, “I’ve always felt that success of the personal service business is referrals. It’s not getting on the phone or going online. It’s always been someone saying, ‘Hey, Gene, I have a friend who is writing a book, would you be interested in working with them?’”

He is survived by his wife, Myrna Schwam; his daughter, Stephanie Schwam Adams; his stepchildren, Adam London, Greg London and Linda London; and four grandchildren.

Freddy Verschaffel obit

The Diva of Flanders has died, aged 90

 

She was not on the list.

Obituary by Freddy Verschaffel, Ghent, 16 October 2026:

The renowned opera singer Jacqueline Van Quaille, described as “La diva delle Fiandre” (“the Diva of Flanders”), was born in Gentbrugge on 6 October 1936. She studied singing with Madame Teugels and lyric theatre with Karel Locufier at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Ghent. After completing her studies in 1957, she began performing with the West Flemish Operetta Company in Kortrijk and Roeselare, as well as at the Royal Opera in Ghent, where she sang Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. Ghent became her artistic home. There she enjoyed great success in the French and Italian repertoire, including Guillaume Tell (with Tony Poncet), Otello, LanTraviata (which she studied with the Ghent soprano Vina Bovy), La Forza del Destino, La Fanciulla del West and, above all, her signature role in Tosca. She also performed a considerable amount of operetta, including Das Land des Lächelns, Die Lustige Witwe and Der Zigeunerbaron (with Cesare Curzi and Rudolf Schock).

But international opportunities beckoned. She first received the King Baudouin Prize in Verviers, then secured a permanent contract in Wuppertal. In 1963 she also appeared in Paris in the French premiere of Ferruccio Busoni’s Doktor Faust at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, sharing the programme with, among others, Mario Del Monaco. She also performed elsewhere in France, including Nice and Besançon. In Frankfurt, she sang Chrysothemis opposite Astrid Varnay’s Elektra. After three years in Wuppertal, she was engaged for several years by the opera house in Graz, Austria. The Vienna Volksoper also called upon her to perform Der Zigeunerbaron. Never one to stand still, she crossed into Italy, where she began taking lessons with Ettore Campogalliani, teacher of Renata Tebaldi and Carlo Bergonzi.

An audition at La Scala followed. The Ghent soprano was accepted and offered the opportunity to continue studying at the Accademia della Scala, but Graz still held her contract and would no release her. After fulfilling her remaining commitments in Graz, and by then the mother of three children, she decided to perform closer to home.

The Centre Lyrique de Wallonie in Liège engaged her to sing spinto roles. There she triumphed in Un Ballo in Maschera and La Forza del Destino alongside two stars of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Nicola Herlea and Barry Morell. She also sang Andrea Chénier (in French) with Alain Vanzo, Richard Strauss’s Arabella with Julien Haas, and Macbeth with Gilbert Dubuc.

It was above all in Ghent, and also in Antwerp, that she gave outstanding performances across an exceptionally varied repertoire: the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, Fidelio, Il Tabarro, Cavalleria, Mathis der Mahler, Tiefland, Tannhäuser and La Damnation de Faust. In her home city of Ghent, her unforgettable interpretations included Adriana Lecouvreur with her world-famous fellow Ghent native Rita Gorr, Francesca da Rimini, Manon Lescaut, Die Walküre, Erich Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt and Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul, a role she travelled to New York to study. It was in that city, following an audition at Carnegie Hall for impresario Thea Dispeker, that she received what she considered the finest compliment of her professional life: “You did make some mistakes, just like Montserrat Caballé, but of course she is La Caballé.” Her most extraordinary achievement came on a Sunday at the Royal Opera in Ghent: a concert at the Vooruit festival hall in the morning, the premiere of La Forza del Destino in the afternoon, and the final performance of Tosca in the evening—almost unbelievable!

Towards the end of her career, she gave concert performances during the Festival of Flanders. She also appeared at La Monnaie in Brussels in Berlioz’s Les Troyens with Guy Chauvet, in Der Fliegende Holländer, and at Aix-en-Provence in Onegin (with Peter Mattei, Guryakova and Semenchuk). Other performances included Offenbach’s Orphée aux Enfers and La Belle Hélène, with which she appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 2000. She took part in television productions for the BRT, including Manon Lescaut and Don Carlos with José Van Dam. For RTBF, she

sang Isolde opposite Claude Heater’s Tristan in a production filmed on the Belgian coast and at Gravensteen Castle in Ghent. Musical theatre also featured in her career, including the role of Bianca Castafiore in the musical Tintin and the Temple of the Sun, works by Kurt Weill and The Sound of Music with the Ballet of Flanders.

Finally, in 2014, aged 78, she appeared in Ghost Road, a theatre production by LOD with Viviane De Muynck, which was performed both in Belgium and abroad. Her very last work was the short film Passé, with Luc De Bruycker and Koen Crucke, in the Ghent dialect. During the difficult period surrounding the establishment of the Flemish Opera, she founded her own operetta company, Aruna. She also taught at the Music Academy in Ghent and privately. One of her pupils, William Van Der Heyden, went on to become a soloist at Bayreuth. It can also be said of Jacqueline Van Quaille that she was perhaps the only soprano to have performed in every opera house in Belgium. She spent 56 years

on stage. The Diva of Flanders, indeed.

Jon Morris obit

Patriots Mourn the Passing of Hall of Fame Center Jon Morris

Seven-time league All-Star played 11 seasons with the Patriots and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2011.

 

He was not on the list.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Patriots Hall of Fame center Jon Morris. He was 84 (1942-2026).

Morris, whose Patriots career spanned 11 seasons from 1964 through 1974, was one of the franchise's earliest stars and among the most accomplished centers of his era. He appeared in 130 games for the Patriots and earned seven consecutive league All-Star selections, representing Boston in six AFL All-Star Games from 1964 through 1969 before becoming the franchise's first NFL Pro Bowl selection in 1970.

"Jon Morris was one of the great players who helped build the foundation of our franchise," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. "For generations of Patriots fans, he represented the toughness, dedication and pride of those early teams. It meant so much to me to call Jon in 2011 and tell him he had been selected to our Hall of Fame, ensuring that his contributions would always be remembered. On behalf of our family and the entire Patriots organization, we extend our deepest condolences to Jon's family, friends and former teammates."

A standout at Holy Cross, Morris was selected by the Boston Patriots in the fourth round of the 1964 AFL Draft and by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the NFL Draft. He chose to remain in New England, beginning a professional career that would span 15 seasons. An Associated Press first-team All-AFL selection in 1966, Morris also earned recognition on the All-Time AFL second team and the Patriots' 50th Anniversary Team.

Morris anchored the Patriots' offensive line during an era that featured fellow Patriots Hall of Famers Gino Cappelletti, Babe Parilli and Jim Nance. After concluding his playing career with Detroit (1975-77) and Chicago (1978), Morris returned to the Patriots as a radio color commentator from 1979 through 1987, later providing NFL analysis for NBC.

In 2011, Morris became the first player selected for the Patriots Hall of Fame by the organization's senior selection committee, established to recognize deserving players from the franchise's early years. Upon learning of his selection, Morris called the honor "the crowning achievement of my football life."

The Patriots extend their heartfelt sympathies to all who knew and loved him.

The Morris family will hold private services. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for any donations to be made to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism in Jon's name.

Morris attended College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, graduating in 1964. He started at center and linebacker for three seasons of college football with the Holy Cross Crusaders, and was team captain as a senior. As a senior, he was 6 ft 3 in (1.9 m) and 225 pounds (102 kg).

He was named both the Holy Cross Varsity Club Athlete of the Year and Holy Cross Lineman of the Year in the 1963 season. Morris was selected by the Associated Press (AP) at center to its second-team All-East team in 1962, and was selected first-team AP All-East center in his senior year (1963). Morris was a two-time first-team All-New England selection.

Morris was a co-captain of the North team in the Senior Bowl, playing center, and played in the College All-Star Game against the Chicago Bears in August 1964. He was named a second-team Catholic College All-American at center his senior year. He was named a second-team center on the Central Press Captains' All-American team, behind the first team's Dick Butkus.

After retiring from the NFL in 1978, Morris became a radio broadcast color commentator for the Patriots, working alongside play-by-play radio broadcaster Gil Santos. Morris worked as the color commentator on Patriots radio broadcasts from 1979 to 1987, followed by color analysis of NFL games for NBC television. In 1987, his radio broadcast partner was the legendary Curt Gowdy, winner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Award and the namesake of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Media Award.

 

Personal information

Born    April 5, 1942

Washington, D.C., U.S.

Died    October 15, 2026 (aged 84)

Listed height   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)

Listed weight  254 lb (115 kg)

Career information

High school     Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.)

College            Holy Cross (1961–1963)

NFL draft        1964: 2nd round, 27th overall pick

AFL draft        1964: 4th round, 29th overall pick

Career history

Boston / New England Patriots (1964–1974)

Detroit Lions (1975–1977)

Chicago Bears (1978)

Awards and highlights

First-team All-AFL (1966)

4× Second-team All-AFL (1964, 1965, 1967, 1969)

6× AFL All-Star (1964–1969)

Pro Bowl (1970)

AFL All-Time Second-team

Boston Patriots All-1960s Team

New England Patriots 35th Anniversary Team

New England Patriots 50th Anniversary Team

New England Patriots Hall of Fame

First-team All-Eastern (1963)

Second-team All-Eastern (1962)

Career AFL/NFL statistics

Games played  182

Games started  167

Fumble recoveries       2

Cliff Hagan - # 367

 

Hawks Legend And Hall Of Famer Cliff Hagan Dies At 94

He was number 367 on the list.

Cliff Hagan, one of the central figures in the history of the Hawks franchise and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 94.

Hagan passed away Thursday, according to longtime Kentucky basketball figure Oscar Combs. No cause of death had been publicly announced in the initial reports.

A 6-foot-4 forward from Owensboro, Kentucky, Hagan built a career that connected several important eras of basketball. After starring at the University of Kentucky under Adolph Rupp, he helped the Wildcats win the 1951 NCAA championship and later played on Kentucky’s unbeaten 25-0 team in 1954. He was a two-time consensus First Team All-American before moving on to the professional game.

His NBA career is permanently tied to one of the most famous trades in league history. Boston had drafted Hagan, but the Celtics eventually sent him and Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Bill Russell. Hagan went on to spend 10 NBA seasons with the Hawks, becoming one of the franchise’s defining stars.

Hagan was selected to five NBA All-Star Games and earned two All-NBA Second Team honors. Most importantly, he was a major part of the 1958 St. Louis Hawks championship team, the only NBA title in franchise history.

He was especially effective in the postseason. Hagan averaged 20.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in NBA playoff competition, a reflection of how important he was next to fellow Hawks great Bob Pettit during the franchise’s most successful period.

After leaving the NBA, Hagan continued his professional career in the ABA with the Dallas Chaparrals, where he also served as player-coach. Across his NBA and ABA career, he appeared in 839 regular-season games and averaged 17.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

His impact stretched well beyond the professional game. Hagan later returned to Kentucky and served for years in the university’s athletic department, including a long tenure as athletics director. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978 and remains one of the most important players in both Kentucky and Hawks history.

Hagan served in the U.S. military for two years after being drafted. In both of his years in the military (1954 and 1955), Hagan, stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, won Worldwide Air Force basketball championships.