Deaths in October - 2024

Investigative journalist David Burnham died October 1 aged 91. Burnhams's works include A law unto itself : power, politics, and the IRS, The rise of the computer state, and Above the law : secret deals, political fixes, and other misadventures of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Comics writer Pierre Christin died October 3 aged 86. Christin's works include The city of shifting waters (the first volume of the Valerian and Laureline series), Partie de chasse, and The Black Order Brigade.

Author John Gierach died October 3 at the age of 78. His books include Trout Bum, Sex, Death and Fly Fishing, and Death, Taxes, and Leaky Waders : A John Gierach Fly-Fishing Treasury.

Australian author Barbara Blackman died October 4 at the age of 95. Her books include Glass after Glass, Certain Chairs, and All My Januaries: Pleasures of Life and Other Essays.

Archaeologist Timothy Darvill died October 5 at the age of 66. His books include The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology, Prehistoric Britain, and England: An Oxford Archaeological Guide.

Writer, translator, and writing teacher Lore Segal died October 7 aged 96. Segal's works include Tell me a Mitzi, Shakespeare's kitchen : stories, and The juniper tree, and other tales from Grimm.

Metafictional novelist Robert Coover died on October 5 at the age of 92. Among his most noted works The Public Burning and Pricksongs and Descants.

I wrote this at my blog:

Robert Coover has passed at age 92. This one hits me because I studied his work as an undergraduate at Yale. I designed an independent study class in the American Studies major for myself, reading through much of the work of the brash young (mega)novelists: Coover, Pynchon, Barth, Gass, Gaddis.

For Coover newbies, I have a suggestion. Two, actually. The Universal Baseball Association (1968) is a dazzling early novel (and perfectly accessible even if you don’t know a thing about baseball). Pricksongs & Descants (1969) is an excellent story collection from the same time.

The Public Burning (1977), Coover’s huge, phantasmagoric, and scabrous novel about Nixon, is unforgettable but best tackled after those shorter works, I think. A very timely book in this election season.

I feel guilty (as I so often do) about not having kept up with Coover’s later work. I think that he suffered a diminution of attention because, to put it mildly, he was not afraid of sexual themes, and would venture into near-pornography. If he were French, no one would care, but in the US, that is still kind of a no-no.

Perhaps I can make amends by now reading Coover’s first novel, The Origin of the Brunists (1966), which I never got to, and its juggernaut 1,005-page sequel, The Brunist Day of Wrath (2014). This set is ALSO timely, dealing as it does with a cult.

>5 PatrickMurtha: It's been a while since I've read Coover but I have read 4/5 maybe 6 of his works. I have The Public Burning but have not read that one though. Still he was a landmark cutting edge American (post WWII) novelist.

>6 lriley: He was a brash customer!

Singer Cissy Houston died October 7 at the age of 91. She wrote Remembering Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped and How sweet the sound : my life with God and Gospel.

Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert died October 9 at the age of 100. She wrote Lily's Promise: Holding On to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond―A Story for All Generations.

New Zealand poet Fleur Adcock died October 10 at the age of 90. Her work includes The Faber Book of 20th Century Women's Poetry, Poems 1960-2000, and
The Oxford Book of Creatures.

I found that my Scribd / Everand subscription included a number of books by Fleur Adcock, including Poems 1960-2000 which I immediately borrowed. I’m just a few pages in, and wow! Amazing! Where has this poet been all my life?

Architect Roger K. Lewis died October 2 aged 83. Lewis's works include Architect? : a candid guide to the profession and Master builders: A guide to famous American architects.

Fly fisherman and freelance writer John Gierach died October 3 aged 78. Gierach's works incude Trout bum, Sex, death, and fly-fishing, and Death, taxes, and leaky waders : a John Gierach fly-fishing treasury.

Journalist Donald L. Barlett died October 5 aged 88. Barlett's works include Howard Hughes : his life & madness, and with James B. Steele, America: what went wrong? (1992) and Critical condition : how health care in America became big business-- and bad medicine.

Comics creator Job (André Jobin) died October 8 aged 96. Job is best known for his series Yakari, including Yakari and Great Eagle, Yakari and the Beavers, and Yakari in the Land of Wolves.

Fair pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter died October 12 at the age of 86. She wrote Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond.

Novelist Richard Woodman died October 2 aged 80. Woodman's works include the Nathaniel Drinkwater series, A brief history of mutiny, and The sea warriors : the fighting captains and their ships in the age of Nelson.

Psychologist, professor, and creator of the Stanford Prison Experiment Philip G Zimbardo died October 14 aged 91. Zimbardo's works include The Lucifer effect: Understanding how good people turn evil, The time paradox : the new psychology of time that will change your life with John Boyd, and the textbook Psychology and life.

Cultural journalist and columnist Robert Fulford died October 16 aged 92. Fulford's works include The triumph of narrative : storytelling in the age of mass culture, Accidental city : the transformation of Toronto, and Best seat in the house : memoirs of a lucky man.

Journalist and former Soviet prisoner Nicholas Daniloff died October 17 aged 89. Daniloff's works include Two Lives, One Russia and Of spies and spokesmen my life as a Cold War correspondent.

Jewish historian of the Holocaust Yehuda Bauer died October 18 aged 98. Bauer's works include A history of the Holocaust, Rethinking the Holocaust, and Jews for sale? : Nazi-Jewish negotiations, 1933-1945.

Architectural historian Joseph Rykwert died October 18 aged 98. Rykwert's works include The seduction of place : the history and future of the city, On Adam's house in Paradise : the idea of the primitive hut in architectural history, and The dancing column : on order in architecture.

George Negus, Australian writer, journalist and TV presenter, died on 15 October. "Negus wrote several books, including one based on his time in Italy, and co-wrote a six-part series of children's books about Australian wildlife and geography with Kirsty Cockburn, his partner, in the early 1990s. His last book, The World from Down Under: A Chat with Recent History, was published 2010. His bestselling book The World from Islam, first published in 2003, is an investigation of the Islamic world as seen from Negus's travels in the Middle East. In The World from Islam, Negus defended Islam from claims of extremism, citing Islam's diversity."

Poet Henry Taylor died October 13. His works include The Flying Change: Poems, Understanding Fiction: Poems, 1986-1996, and Afternoon of Pocket Billiards: Poems .

Artist and illustrator Massimiliano Frezzato died October 21 aged 57. Frezzato is best known for the series Keepers of the Maser, which starts with The 2nd Moon, The Isle of Dwarves, and Eye of the Sea.

Founder of liberation theology, the priest Gustavo Gutierrez died October 22 aged 96. Gutierrez's works include A theology of liberation: history, politics, and salvation, We drink from our own wells : the spiritual journey of a people, and On Job : God-talk and the suffering of the innocent.

Writer and artist Gary Indiana died aged 74. Indiana's works include the novels Horse crazy and Rent boy, the nonfiction book Three month fever : the Andrew Cunanan story, and the memoir I can give you anything but love.

Bassist for The Grateful Dead, Phil Lesh died October 25 at the age of 84. He wrote Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead.

Jewish scholar and Buber specialist Paul Mendes-Flohr died October 24 aged 83. Mendes-Flohr's works inculde Martin Buber : a life of faith and dissent, The Jew in the modern world : a documentary history edited with Jehuda Reinharz, and Contemporary Jewish religious thought: Original essays on critical concepts, movements, and beliefs, edited with Arthur A. Cohen.

Writer Paul Bailey died October 27 aged 87. Bailey's works include the novel Gabriel's lament, the biography The stately homo : a celebration of the life of Quentin Crisp, and the memoir An immaculate mistake : scenes from childhood and beyond.

Writer, screenwriter, director, and diplomat Antonio Skármeta died October 15 aged 83. Skármeta's works include Il postino di Neruda, The composition, and El Baile de la Victoria.

Actress Teri Garr died October 29 at the age of 79. She wrote Speedbumps: Flooring it Through Hollywood.

Writer and editor Robert J. Randisi died October 2 aged 73. His hundreds of works (including many aliases) include In the shadow of the arch from his Joe Keough series, Writing the private eye novel : a handbook by the Private Eye Writers of America, and Everybody kills somebody sometime.

Rabbi Walter Jacob died October 20 aged 94. Jacob's works include Contemporary American Reform Responsa, Christianity through Jewish eyes: The quest for common ground, and Dynamic Jewish Law: Progressive Halakhah Essence and Application.

Former attorney Charles Brandt died October 22 aged 82. Brandt wrote I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa.

Holocaust survivor and memoirist Lily Ebert died October 9 aged 100. Ebert wrote Lily's promise : holding on to hope through Auschwitz and beyond--a story for all generations.

Artist and writer Anita Albus died October 6 aged 82. Albus's works include The art of arts : rediscovering painting, On Rare Birds: A Lamentation on Natural History’s Extinct and Endangered, and Paradies und Paradox. Wunderwerke aus fünf Jahrhunderten.

Medieval historian Janet L. Nelson died October 14 aged 82. Nelson's works include King and emperor : a new life of Charlemagne, Charles the Bald, and The Frankish World, 750-900.

Writer and lyricist Rieko Nakagawa died October 14 aged 89. Nakagawa's works include Guri and Gura (the start of the series Les aventures de Guri & Gura), The blue seed, and the lyrics of the opening theme song of My neighbor Totoro.

Archaeologist, historian, and Egyptologist Donald B. Redford died October 18 aged 90. Redford's works include Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in ancient times, Akhenaten : the heretic king, and (as editor) The Oxford Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology.

I'm still looking for more details, but Phil Rickman, author of the Merrily Watkins series - crime fiction with supernatural elements - and many other novels, died suddenly last month, I think of a stroke. Most of the discussion I can find via Google is on role playing games community forums.

>25 elkiedee: I see one report that he died October 29.

Artist and illustrator Greg Hildebrandt died October 31 aged 85. Hildebrandt often worked with his brother Tim but also had a solo career. In addition to that Star Wars poster, their joint works are collected in such works as Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, the Tolkien years and The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt. Greg Hildebrandt's solo work included Greg Hildebrandt's Favorite Fairy Tales , Greg Hildebrandt's Book of Three-Dimensional Dragons, and illustrated editions of such classics as Dracula and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Manga artist, musician and actor Kazuo Umezu died October 28 aged 88. His works include the series The drifting classroom, Orochi, and Cat eyed boy.

Architect and sustainable design advocate Sim Van der Ryn October 19 aged 89. Van der Ryn's works include Ecological Design with Stuart Cowan, Sustainable communities : a new design synthesis for cities, suburbs, and towns with Peter Calthorpe, and Design for an empathic world: reconnecting people, nature, and self.

Novelist Ensan Case died October 1 at the age of 74. He wrote Beach Head and Wingmen.

Theologian Anne M. Clifford died October 2 at the age of 80. Her books include Christology: Memory, Inquiry, Practice (Annual Publication of the College Theology Society) and Introducing Feminist Theology.