Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint (1934–2025), psychiatrist who explored racism

Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint was a psychiatrist whose work studying the impact of racism on Black populations filled books and fueled debates about culture and politics. 

Roberta Flack (1937–2025), Killing Me Softly with His Song singer

Roberta Flack was a singer who had No. 1 hits with “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love.”

Ramona Fradon (1926–2024), trailblazing comic artist

Ramona Fradon was a trailblazing comic artist who was one of just two women artists working professionally in comics when she began, and who helped co-create characters like Metamorpho and Aqualad.

Kenneth Mitchell (1974–2024), Star Trek: Discovery regular 

Kenneth Mitchell was an actor best known for his recurring roles on the TV series “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Jericho,” and his role in the blockbuster “Captain Marvel.”

Ed Fury (1928–2023), bodybuilder and Ursus actor

Ed Fury was a bodybuilder who starred in sword-and-sandal films of the 1960s including the “Ursus” trilogy.

James Abourezk (1931–2023), first Arab American U.S. Senator

James Abourezk was a Democratic politician from South Dakota who became the first Arab American elected to the U.S. Senate.

Ken Burrough (1948–2022), former Oilers star receiver

Ken Burrough was a star wide receiver for the Houston Oilers who has the second most touchdown catches in the team’s history.

Sally Kellerman (1937–2022), actor played “Hot Lips” Houlihan in “M*A*S*H”

Sally Kellerman was an Oscar-nominated actor for her role as “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the movie “M*A*S*H” and starred in “Back to School.”

David Mintz (1931–2021), inventor of Tofutti vegan ice cream

David Mintz was the inventor of Tofutti, the first commercially successful vegan ice cream.

Clive Cussler (1931–2020), best-selling adventure author

Clive Cussler was a best-selling adventure author known for his series of thrillers starring Dirk Pitt, an underwater explorer and playboy who battles evil villains. One of Cussler's novels, “Sahara,” was turned into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz. More than 100 million copies of his books have sold over the past 50 years, including both fiction and nonfiction. Cussler also became an underwater explorer in real life, leading expeditions that discovered many shipwrecks including the Confederate’s Civil War ship Manassas, that sunk in the Mississippi River in 1862.

Stephan Ross (1931–2020), New England Holocaust Memorial founder

StephanRoss survived 10 Nazi concentration camps as a boy and was the founder of the New England Holocaust Memorial.Ross was bornSzmulekRozentalin Lodz, Poland. As a boy, he was sent to concentration camps after the Nazie28099s invaded Poland. He spent time in 10 different camps,surviving beatings, illness, and starvation, and escaped twiceafterbeing chosen for death at the camps. One time,he ranfrom the death lineunder a train andgrabbedon to theaxle when the train started to move. He held on and when the train stopped, he was at another camp.

David Roback (1958–2020), Mazzy Star co-founder

David Roback  was a co-founder of the dream pop band Mazzy Star that had a hit song in 1994 with “Fade into You.” Guitarist Roback started the band with vocalist Hope Sandoval in the late 1980s. Roback composed the music while Sandoval wrote the lyrics. They released three critically-acclaimed albums. The single “Fade into You” reached No. 3 on the modern rock charts and a video for the song was in regular rotation on MTV. The band released a new single in 2011 followed by the album “Seasons of Your Day” in 2013 and an EP in 2017. In the 1980s, Roback was in the bands Rain Parade and Opal, part of Southern California’s psych rock revival known as the Paisley Underground.

Katherine Johnson (1918–2020), NASA's “Hidden Figures” hero

Katherine Johnson was a mathematician who calculated orbital mechanics for the first crewed spaceflights for NASA. The story of her struggles as one of the African American women working as computers at NASA in the 1960s was made famous in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures,” which starred Taraji P. Henson as Johnson. Johnson’s calculations of the trajectory and launch window for Alan Shepard’s historic 1961 spaceflight were crucial to the success of the mission. She later helped calculate the trajectory for Apollo 11’s 1969 Moon landing, and she worked on the Space Shuttle program and on plans for a mission to Mars.

Carrie Ann Lucas (1971–2019), disability rights advocate

One of the most prominent disability rights attorneys in the United States.

Mac Wiseman (1925–2019), bluegrass great

Singer and guitarist was called “The Voice with a Heart.”

Sridevi (1963 – 2018), Bollywood's first female superstar

Known for her dancing and comic timing…

Lennie Baker (1946 - 2016), Sha Na Na singer

Lennie Baker, lead vocalist on Sha Na Na’s hit, “Blue Moon,” died after a brief hospitalization on February 24, 2016, according to The Associated Press. He was 69.

Kids Love Berenstain Bears

The Berenstain Bears have captivated generations of children.

Poor Old Johnnie Ray

Johnnie Ray would have turned 85 today. We offer a primer for those who only know him from the Dexy's Midnight Runners song...