Brando's Troubled Firstborn Dies

Catcher for Mets, Expos had brain cancer

(AP) - Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, whose single for the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series touched off one of the most improbable rallies in baseball, died today. He was 57. Carter, diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last May, was an 11-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. Nicknamed "Kid," Carter played nearly two decades with the Mets, Montreal, San Francisco, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the first player to go into the Hall of Fame with an Expos cap on his plaque. More»

Renowned art director experienced revival in 1990s

(NEWSER) - Lillian Bassman, who shot to fame as a self-taught photographer and the daring art director of a Harper's Bazaar spin-off, died yesterday at 94 in her Manhattan home. Bassman, born in Brooklyn and raised in the Bronx, studied fabric design and fashion illustration, and became a protégé of Alexey Brodovitch, the Bazaar art director. She studied graphic design under him and soon became his first paid assistant; by 1945, she was sharing the art director title with him at Junior Bazaar. On her own, she experimented with darkroom methods and soon began taking her own photographs. More»

Singers, critics, pros all call her one of greatest ever

(NEWSER) - Tributes are pouring in for the career of the late Whitney Houston, after her shocking death yesterday, focusing on her uniquely powerful voice and incredible catalogue of hits. A sampling:

• "At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry," praised Billboard . "She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen."
• "A light has been dimmed in our music community today," said the president of the Recording Academy , calling Houston "one of the world's greatest pop singers of all time."

She had battled substance abuse for years

(AP) - Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior, and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48. Publicist Kristen Foster said today that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown. At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen. She died on the eve of the Grammys. More»

He was a longtime presence on Broadway, TV, and the big screen

(NEWSER) - Actor Ben Gazzara died of pancreatic cancer today, reports the New York Times . The obituary recounts a long and varied career on stage (a starring role in the original Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), television (Run for Your LIfe in the early '60s), and film (especially with director John Cassavetes in movies such as The Killing of a Chinese Bookie). He may be best known, however, for a wide range of supporting roles in movies such as Summer of Sam, Bandits, and the Big Lebowski. More»