We will miss them: Green Dragon's obits - Part VIII

‘There Will Always Only Be One Jane Goodall’
Carl Zimmer and Emily Anthes | Oct. 1, 2025

Scientists reflect on the life and work of a researcher whose discoveries made them rethink what it means to be human...

Gift link: https://nyti.ms/46PGBtd
---------------------------------------------------

Jane Goodall – a life in pictures
The world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91
Joanna Ruck | Wed 1 Oct 2025

https://www.theguardian.com/science/gallery/2025/oct/01/jane-goodall-a-life-in-p...

>1 margd: Still think her using chimpanzee's in that diamond mine was wrong.

>1 margd: This one hurts. She never lost her hopefulness, despite the colossal mess we've made of things.

>2 AHS-Wolfy: Everyone makes mistakes, don't they?

>2 AHS-Wolfy: AI Overview ... "Goodall chimpanzees diamond mine"

... Understanding the Misconception
Viral Social Media: A social media post from October 1, 2025, and similar posts from the past, incorrectly stated that Goodall's research involved using chimpanzees to mine diamonds.

**Confusion with *The Simpsons* https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/ngs6nk/since_we_like_simpsons_predi...: Some users on platforms like Reddit have linked the misconception to a fictional scenario in The Simpsons where a character resembling Goodall uses apes to mine diamonds, further blurring the line between fact and fiction...

>3 clamairy: Last night, I stepped outside, as I often do, hoping to glimpse Northern Lights. Just a white glow for us, but the night was still so beautiful:

"When the night wind makes the pine trees creak,
And the pale clouds glide across the dark sky,
Go out my child, go out and seek
Your soul: The Eternal I..."

-- Jane Goodall
excerpt from poem, "The Old Wisdom", in Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey

>4 clamairy: ^ >5 margd: My sense of humour gets me in trouble again. The Simpsons episode was the reference for my comment. No disrespect was intended as I think she was quite an amazing person.

>6 margd: That's just lovely. Thank you for sharing it.

>7 AHS-Wolfy: This is what happens when I am too busy to look up something that has me stumped. I probably would have laughed along with you, but now I'm just embarrassed.

Well known British actress Patricia Routledge has passed at the age of 96, Probably most fondly remembered for her portrayal of Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances.

BBC obit

Also Susan Lucas better known as Soo Catwoman. An icon from the early punk scene of the late 1970's.

Thomas Perry - author of the Jane Whitfield & Butcher Boy series, among other really good books.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/books/thomas-perry-dead.html

(I'm not awake yet (& not feeling well) so I'm sorry that I'm not linking or gifting the link)

>10 skittles: I never heard of him before, but that series with the Native American woman sounds fascinating. Adding the first one to my Libby Wishlist.

Dame Jilly Cooper: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cg50q3p94gqt

We are losing too many of our elder stateswomen :-(

:o(
Diane Keaton, Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, dies aged 79 | Diane Keaton | The Guardian https://share.google/zq8IQjeANr6hELV0j

It's only been a few weeks since I listened to her audiobook Then Again on @MrsLee's recommendation.

>14 clamairy: I just saw the headline myself. I'm caught off guard by this because to me, she wasn't very old. I also recall reading your comments on Then Again just a short time ago.

I always enjoyed her performances. ❤️

>14 clamairy: This one makes me really sad. I have always liked her.

I would guess everyone by now has heard that Ace Frehley of Kiss has passed.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kiss-guitarist-ace-frehley-dead-12...

Oh my. I've heard him do a lot of interviews on Eddie Trunk's show(s), but didn't know he was so injured - not sure what he fell off of, but I don't think he was all that healthy unfortunately. After a few interviews I stopped listening to them, he really just rambled a lot and had so much vitriol for the rest of the band that it was hard to listen to. Granted, Gene and Paul can't stand him in return, but the feud was painful to watch, basically.

>18 Bookmarque: Unfortunately, very typical of most bands.

>1 margd: I just watched Famous Last Words on Netflix - with Jane Goodall.

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/famous-last-words-season-1-release-date-n...

It was fascinating. Wiped away some tears. She's amazing. So glad she agreed to do this!

Has anyone else heard of this new series? Apparently they've filmed about 8 of them.

>20 terriks: Thank you for letting us know. I tend to not watch TV until the weather gets really crappy, so I will save this for November.

>21 clamairy: Bring a hanky. 💔

Prunella Scales survived less than a year without her husband Timothy West who passed away last November. She reached the age of 93.

BBC report

Probably best remembered for her role as Sybil Fawlty.

did love her on that show

>23 AHS-Wolfy: Didn't Timothy West* narrate some of the Tolkien audiobooks?

*Along with his son Samuel West who plays Siegfried on the latest masterpiece theater version of All Creatures Great and Small.

Pretty sure I have the wrong touchstone for Timothy.

>25 clamairy: That's the right touchstone. Not sure about the narration as I don't do audiobooks.

It was: https://www.librarything.com/work/18573336/
Christopher Tolkien narrates the introduction. The Wests do the rest.

BBC News that James Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, has died at the age of 97: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8xdypnz32o

ETA: Another article in today's BBC news on why this is important: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51yxlzw0w0o

Sir Tom Stoppard at 88: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74xe49q7vlo

Joanna Trollop, author of British Romances as died. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq6008er5zgo

Science fiction author John Varley. https://locusmag.com/2025/12/john-varley-1947-2025/

Sophie Kinsella of Shopaholic fame has passed aged 55 - BBC link https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce91d2m1gg7o

>32 Peace2: I have not read any of her books, but this made me very sad. So young.

OMG who would want to murder Rob Reiner??? Looks like some asshole did, probably related to the guy who shot John Lennon. Anyway, his wife was also killed in what appears to be a stabbing in their home.

>34 Bookmarque: Seems it was his son.

Hm. Can't find that info anywhere. News sites still have it as Rob the director. I guess things will have to shake out. Either way it's awful.

Oh wait, you mean the killer.

Yes, they were killed by their son Nick who has a history of drug addiction & homelessness.

People report

I'm speechless. It was the first news alert I saw when I woke up this morning, and I am heartbroken.

Oh no, the blurb I saw this morning just said 'died', I didn't realize they were murdered. So sad.

>38 AHS-Wolfy: Oh, that's sad :(

I saw that he and his wife had been murdered and they were talking to a family member. Didn't see that it was his son. So sad!

It's a hideous tragedy on so many levels. I've been a bit shaken by it all day. Not just some random break-in, but his son.

And we've lost Rob Reiner. Still can't wrap my head around it.

I know...talk about ruining EVERYONE'S holidays.

. im thinking you already have a slew of issues, and you father and grandfather were famous gotta affect a kid like that. and I bet both parents did the best the could am remembIering that rob put one of his sons in a film, saw about it on colbert never saw what it was like.

Gil Gerard, actor best remembered as Buck Rogers, gone at the age of 82. Died after a brief battle with what his wife, Janet, described as “a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer.”

Forbes obit

The usual Sgt. Pepper tribute picture has been made



Full version of the image and a who's who can be found here

One more for the list, actor James Ransome took his own life at the age of just 46.

Notable credits include Ziggy from The Wire, and was also in Generation Kill, Treme and Bosch. So sad.

NY Post report

>48 AHS-Wolfy: Oh no...

>47 AHS-Wolfy: Thanks for the Sgt. Pepper tribute link. I wouldn't have seen it otherwise. It's pretty poignant when you put it like that.

No driving home for Christmas for Chris Rea this year.

BBC report

>47 AHS-Wolfy: This is amazing - thanks for the link!

>51 AHS-Wolfy: "The musician was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer aged 33, had his pancreas removed in 2001, and later said he took 34 pills every day."

I thought that was one of the cancers with the lowest survival rate. He lasted 40 years after diagnosis!

I asked my Echo device to play that song for me and I have to say that I am completely unfamiliar with it.

>53 clamairy: Driving Home for Christmas is a UK staple at this time of the year and kind of become a bit of a joke where people start asking if he'd started his drive yet sometime in early December.

Brigitte Bardot, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly92pr8qryo

>55 Maddz: Yikes. I did not know about the unfortunate comments she made in later years.

Dilbert Cartoonist, Scott Adams, has passed. AP write up here: https://apnews.com/article/scott-adams-dies-dilbert-cartoonist-ccddff117f962854c...

>57 jillmwo: I've got mixed feelings about this one. I used to laugh at his cartoons because I was trapped in a cubicle in the 80s. Then he started blogging and said things that were misogynistic, antisemitic and racists. I have a lot of trouble disassociating an enjoyable product from a creator that I can't respect.

Yeah, well, our options are in an ever-shrinking pool these days, unfortunately.

>58 clamairy: yeah, same here

>58 clamairy: I remember that now, and it is sad, why do people have to be so terrible? I stopped reading the comic years ago, probably why.

>58 clamairy: I didn’t know that about him. How sad to be such a hateful person.

Oh no...

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/arts/television/catherine-ohara-dead.html?smi...

Catherine O’Hara, comedy star with a flair for improv, dies at 71

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2026/01/30/catherine-ohara-dead/

NO-O-O-O-O-O-O-!!!!

She was marvelous and I'd basically watch a thing just because of her. Not that she could save the supremely bad, but oh she was so much fun. Boo!!! Hiss!!

>63 clamairy: Oh no, that is sad. It was nice to see her in commercials recently.

>63 clamairy: This is the first I'm seeing this. I'm saddened and surprised - she's been working.

Can't get past the pay wall, so I don't have details.

A real loss.

>66 terriks: There really are no details. No cause of death given anywhere that I've seen.

Here's an obituary from an English newspaper, the Guardian - there is an appeal to subscribe online but it isn't a paywall, and if you click continue it comes up in another window which you can close, and then read an article.

The obituary mentions "a short illness"

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/01/catherine-o-hara-obituary

>63 clamairy: very sad news. A great Canadian! Coincidentally, Thursday night I watched her in the original version of Beetlejuice - wanted to revisit it since our local talent just put on a musical version of Beetlejuice.

Was sad to hear of James Van Der Beek's passing. Only 48 but cancer doesn't respect that.

Variety link

Nope, it goes for all of us equally. My eye doctor who was my age also just died of cancer.

Dan Simmons https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/longmont-co/daniel-simmons-12758871

(Linked from https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/02/hyperion-author-dan-simmons-dies-from-st...

>72 Maddz: Oh yikes! Didn't he just publish something?

>73 clamairy: Possibly. I don't read much in the way of hard SF these days.

>72 Maddz: Darn, that's sad. I just heard this too, don't know why it took 6 days. He's written some great books, too bad there aren't more.

Oh no. I've only read one of his books, but it was an experience.

Neil Sedaka: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yrdr5d43yo

>72 Maddz: Oh, my - sorry to hear this. He was a powerhouse, put out a lot of work.

>73 clamairy: I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me.

>77 Maddz: So many songs that pop up in my timeline. *sigh*

>76 Bookmarque: I really enjoyed The Abominable, and of course there is his Hyperion series, which is fantastic.

>80 Karlstar: Wrong touchstone for that I think - The Abominable - the one I read was The Terror because I like the story of the benighted expedition, but oy was it heavy going.

>72 Maddz: Sorry to read the news about Dan Simmons. I loved the Hyperion Cantos series. Other books were hit or miss, but I haven’t read them all.

>73 clamairy: I think his last professionally published book is from 2015. I think I read somewhere that he suffered a severe head injury around that time, and was unable to do much writing after that.

>80 Karlstar: I haven’t read that one. May have to try it. The original cover for Hyperion with the Shrike and Tesla trees in the background is one of my favorite SF covers.

>80 Karlstar: >81 Bookmarque: Touchstone fixed. I have not read all of his non-scifi, I actually have Black Hills, I'll try and get to it soon.

Len Deighton at 97: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cervgrvekxzo

Nicholas Brendon (Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) aged just 54. Had his addiction problems in the past but said to be of natural causes.

BBC obit

And, almost unbelievably, Chuck Norris.

>85 AHS-Wolfy: Yes, there were also health issues and multiple back surgeries, I believe. Too young.

I was sad to hear about both of these. One too young and the other was invincible.

Yikes. Robert Mueller just passed. We've lost a very honorable man.

Sandra Hill
https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/in-extremely-loving-memory-of-sandra...

Did I break the thread?
If so, I apologize.
If necessary, I won't post any more losses.

>91 skittles: Not at all. I'm not aware of any authors passing recently.

SF writer Ian Watson has died.

>91 skittles: Sandra Hill's "official website" link led to an Indonesian online casino site (????) so I deleted it and put in a link to the obituary on Smart Bitches Trashy books which is at least informative.

Deaths since March include Australian novelist David Malouf, poet Carol Rumens and broadcaster Andy Kershaw - not an exhaustive list.

There is also an LT group for obituary nerds at Written in Stone - The Literary Cemetery https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/1236/Written-in-Stone-The-Literary-Cemetery - a thread a month group where we try to post about everyone who has written a book of any kind and occasionally others of cultural significance - musicians, actors, broadcasters, politicians, sportspeople, business people etc. (Many such people have written memoirs, contributed to books, and occasionally ventured into fiction or other books). There are probably more posts there and several people trying to contribute links when they hear news of deaths, but other news of those we've lost is always welcome.

>94 elkiedee: Thank you. I did not know about that group.

Did you say you edited Skittles' post? How exactly did you do that?

The much-loved soprano Felicity Lott has died. She was one of my favourite singers.

>95 clamairy: clamairy: I this that elkiedee is referring to the weblink on the LT author's page.

Judith Barnard of Judith Michael collaboration:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/books/judith-barnard-dead.html

I'm sorry that I can't add a gift link.
Also, I haven't read JM.

>98 skittles: I have never read anything by them either, but I recognise the name, I think. Adding a touchstone. Judith Michael.

>97 skittles: Just noticing this now. Thanks for the clarification.

>95 clamairy: and >97 skittles: - yes, I removed a link on the author profile page because it's been taken over and no longer leads to information about her

Saw in the May State of the Thing that Alan Bradley had died at the age of 87. Quite enjoyed his Flavia books.

Obituary

>102 AHS-Wolfy: That's too bad.
(I do own the first in that series, but I still haven't picked it up.)

Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis, has died at 56.

CNN Obit

>104 AHS-Wolfy: Oh no!!!

"Marjane Satrapi reportedly passed away from "sadness" on June 3, 2026, according to a statement from her family. Her death at age 56 followed the loss of her husband, Mattias Ripa, approximately one year prior."

Via Google.

104: This is sad. She was also the author of my son's favourite picture book, Monsters Are Afraid of the Moon

Anthony Head died today. As a Buffy fan and a librarian, this makes me very sad.

Oops. Mistaken identity. Thought you meant Anthony Heald. Teach me to leave my readers inside.

>107 theretiredlibrarian: Yup, a sad one. 2nd Buffy alumni to go this year after Nicolas Brendon.

I'm sad about Anthony Head. As Giles, he made librarians cool in the public eye. We always knew we were cool but nobody believed us until Giles LOL.

>107 theretiredlibrarian: I only saw a few episodes of Buffy, but I've seen all of Ted Lasso. Anthony Head played Rupert Mannion so we'll you hated him. I actually just finished watching the series a few days ago and I thought he looked a bit unwell in the last couple of episodes.

Also Kanya King, founder of the Music of Black Origin Mobo Awards in the UK, died on 3 June aged 57

>112 elkiedee: Yikes. Another youngish person.

Apparently author Jane Yolen has passed. See https://locusmag.com/2026/06/jane-yolen-1939-2026/

From her daughter's announcement today on FB: "This year, her 450th book published. She has been awarded 6 honorary doctorates and too many awards to mention here. She has mentored, inspired, and nurtured so many authors and illustrators through her words both on the page and off."

>114 jillmwo: 450! That's incredible.

Artist David Hockney at 88 - more to say later

>114 jillmwo: We definitely had Owl Moon.

>116 elkiedee: I had no idea he was still alive. I have to say I must be one of the few people on the planet who cannot understand why this man's paintings are so expensive. They're nice enough, don't get me wrong...

>116 elkiedee: I always liked his various styles, the pop-art/minimalist most of all. A definite loss to the art community.

>117 clamairy: Art prices are absurd, no doubt. People throwing wild dollars to claim certain pieces ruin it for us all.