Dance Legend Pina Bausch Dead at 68

(NEWSER) - Merce Cunningham, one of the most influential dancers and choreographers of the 20th century, died last night at age 90, the New York Times reports. Hailed as the creator of new classicism, he remained productive to the end; this year saw the premiere of his final work, “Nearly Ninety,” and even on his deathbed he told friends he was still choreographing in his mind. More»

(NEWSER) - John Forsythe, a versatile actor who gained lasting fame as Blake Carrington on the pioneering prime-time soap Dynasty and as the voice of the mysterious Charlie on Charlie's Angels, died yesterday in California. He was 92. Best known at the time as the affable star of Bachelor Father, Forsythe played a villainous judge in the 1979 Al Pacino vehicle And Justice for All, demonstrating he had the chops to channel the scheming Blake Carrington. More»

Playwright lives on in his plays, already considered modern classics

(NEWSER) - He didn’t always like the plays of Harold Pinter, who died yesterday at 78, but Guardian theater critic Michael Billington says he’s sure they “will endure wind and weather, because he understood the insecurity of human life.” Billington, also Pinter’s biographer, remembers the “poet’s ear for language” and the way he “brilliantly skewered” political lies. But above all, Pinter “had a great talent for friendship and a remarkable sense of loyalty.” More»

Outspoken playwright was awarded Nobel in 2005

(NEWSER) - Harold Pinter, one of the foremost playwrights of the 20th century, has died of cancer at the age of 78. He began his career as a poet before writing such classic plays as The Caretaker and The Homecoming, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2005. His widow, Antonia Fraser, said in a statement to the Guardian: "He was a great, and it was a privilege to live with him for over 33 years. He will never be forgotten." More»

Powerful owner reshaped Broadway, New York and nationwide

(NEWSER) - Gerald Schoenfeld, American’s most influential theater owner, died today at 84. The New York native ran the powerful Shubert Organization for 36 years, heading 17 Broadway theaters, doling out millions, and co-producing Cats, Amadeus, and Les Miserables. Though his cherubic face put observers in mind of a teddy bear, Schoenfeld’s business flourished from his demanding, and at times cunning, nature, the New York Times reports. More»