Bob Rivers (1956–2025), radio DJ and parody songwriter

Bob Rivers was a noted radio DJ in Seattle and other cities, known more widely for musical parodies that included his 1988 “Twisted Christmas” album.

Alice Brock (1941–2024), the real Alice of Alice’s Restaurant

Alice Brock was a restaurant owner immortalized in Arlo Guthrie’s epic classic song, “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” better known as “Alice’s Restaurant.” 

Roy Haynes (1925–2024), legendary jazz drummer

Roy Haynes was a Grammy Award-winning drummer whose career spanned more than 70 years and covered most major forms of jazz.

John Ashton (1948–2024), Beverly Hills Cop actor

John Ashton was an actor best known for his work in “Some Kind of Wonderful” and the “Beverly Hills Cop” movies.

Kevin Sullivan (1948–2024), WCW wrestler known as the Taskmaster 

Kevin Sullivan was a pro wrestler with WCW and an early incarnation of WWE who went by such ring names as the Taskmaster and the Prince of Darkness. 

Russell Morash (1936–2024), This Old House creator

Russell Morash was a TV producer who pioneered how-to TV as the creator of “This Old House” and director of “The French Chef,” among other PBS shows.

Jasper White (1954–2024), James Beard Award-winning Boston chef

Jasper White was a chef who helped put New England cuisine on the map as the owner of Jasper’s and Jasper White’s Summer Shack.

Frank Stella (1936–2024), pioneering minimalist artist

Frank Stella was an artist, painter and sculptor known for his often abstract, geometric and minimalist work.

Bill Delahunt (1941–2024), U.S. Rep. from Massachusetts 

William “Bill” Delahunt represented the 10th congressional district of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from 1997 to 2011. 

David Breashears (1955–2024), Mount Everest documentarian 

David Breashears was a mountaineer and filmmaker who directed the IMAX film “Everest” and was the first American to reach the mountain’s summit twice (and five times overall). 

Seiji Ozawa (1935–2024), norm-breaking conductor 

Seiji Ozawa was an offbeat, norm-breaking Japanese conductor who led the Boston Symphony Orchestra longer than any other music director.

Louise Glück (1943–2023), Nobel- and Pulitzer-winning poet 

Louise Glück was a poet and essayist whose exploration of trauma, death, loss, and struggle earned her the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, and many others.

Mark Goddard (1936–2023), star of TV’s Lost in Space

Mark Goddard was an actor best known for playing Major Don West in the 1960s TV series “Lost in Space.”

Bill Pinkney (1935–2023), pioneering sailor 

Bill Pinkney was the first Black sailor to make a solo circumnavigation of the globe via the notoriously difficult southern route, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn.

Bill Richardson (1947–2023), former governor of New Mexico 

Bill Richardson was a two-term governor of New Mexico who later became a private diplomat advocating for Americans unjustly imprisoned while abroad. 

Nancy Frangione (1953–2023), soap opera star villain

Nancy Frangione was a soap opera star whose 20-year-long career included shows like “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” and is best known for playing the villainous Cecile de Poulignac on “Another World.”

W. Jason Morgan (1935–2023), plate tectonics pioneer 

W. Jason Morgan was a geologist whose discoveries in plate tectonics helped revolutionize our understanding of the Earth.

Rabbi Harold S. Kushner (1935–2023), best-selling author and lecturer 

Rabbi Harold S. Kushner was the author of “When Bad Things Happen to Good People” and other works that helped bring complex thoughts on loss and theology to a wide audience, regardless of their beliefs.

Ahmad Jamal (1930–2023), innovative jazz pianist

Ahmad Jamal was a jazz pianist and bandleader known for his minimalist style and for songs including “Poinciana.” 

Carol Sloane (1937–2023), jazz singer

Carol Sloane was a jazz singer who had a burgeoning career in the 1950s and ‘60s before rock became the dominant style of popular music.

David McCullough (1933–2022), Pulitzer-winning author of “Truman,” “John Adams”

David McCullough was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of popular history narratives, as well as the narrator of films including “Seabiscuit.”

Pat Carroll (1927–2022), voice of Ursula in “The Little Mermaid”

Pat Carroll was an Emmy Award-winning actress who provided the voice of villain Ursula in the Disney classic, “The Little Mermaid.”

Arnold Skolnick (1937–2022), Woodstock poster artist

Arnold Skolnick was an artist and designer who created the iconic Woodstock poster.

Patricia MacLachlan (1938–2022), author of “Sarah, Plain and Tall”

Patricia MacLachlan was a children’s author whose dozens of books included the award-winning “Sarah, Plain and Tall.”

Lauro Cavazos (1927–2022), first Latino cabinet member

Lauro Cavazos was the first Latino cabinet member as he served as secretary of education under presidents and .

S. Prestley Blake (1914–2021), co-founder of Friendly’s restaurant chain

S. Prestley Blake co-founded the Friendly’s chain of restaurants along with his brother, Curtis Blake.

Tom Heinsohn (1934–2020), Boston Celtics legend

Boston Celtics legend Tom Heinsohn won 10 championships with the franchise as a player and head coach.

Crispus Attucks's death 250 years ago started the American Revolution

One man’s death, 250 years ago this month, became a great symbol of U.S. independence. That man was Crispus Attucks, and he’s considered the first person killed in the American Revolution.

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.

Ram Dass (1931–2019), spiritual guru

Ram Dass was a beloved spiritual guru who was a pioneer of the 1960s psychedelic drug movement. Born Richard Alpert in Boston, Massachusetts, Dass was a psychologist who taught at Harvard. There he became friends with Timothy Leary and the two studied the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs, leading to their dismissal from the school. Alpert went on a journey to India in 1968 and came back with the name Ram Dass. He became a central figure in Eastern spiritual thinking and his 1971 book “Be Here Now” became a counter-culture classic.

Frances Crowe (1919–2019), prominent peace activist

Arrested about 100 times for her activism and protests, she said 100 times was "Not enough."

Michael J. Kittredge II (2019), founder of Yankee Candle Company

Michael J. Kittredge II founded the Yankee Candle Company, the largest U.S. candle company known for its wide range of scented candles in jars.

Fernando Corbato (1926–2019), inventor of the computer password

Fernando Corbato was a computer scientist who was a pioneer of time-sharing operating systems and introduced the first computer password as part of that work.

Dominick J. Arena (1929–2019), police chief arrested Senator Ted Kennedy after Chappaquiddick

He was the police chief of Edgartown, Massachusetts.

Robert F. Kennedy: Icon of Hope

While the death of is often seen as the symbolic moment when the nation lost its post-war afterglow and plunged headlong into the tumult of the 1960s, it was also a time when America came together as a nation in mourning. The assassination of President Kennedy's younger brother Bobby Kennedy less than five years later, however, took on a different tone.

Charles Neville (1938–2018), saxophonist for the Neville Brothers

Charles Neville, saxophonist and founding member of the Neville Brothers, has died at the age of 79, according to multiple news sources.

Robert J. Biggins, Past President of the National Funeral Directors Association

Robert J. Biggins, Past President of the National Funeral Directors Association, died Thursday, March 29, 2018, according to a statement by his son, Daniel Biggins, published on NFDA.org.

Julius Lester (1939 - 2018), author of award-winning children's book "To Be a Slave"

Julius Lester, an author, musician, civil rights activist and university professor who made a late-life conversion to Judaism, has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 78.

Steve Palermo (1949–2017), former MLB umpire

Former MLB umpire was hailed for heroism when he came to the aid of two waitresses being robbed at gunpoint.

Sam Mele (1922 - 2017), Minnesota Twins right fielder

Former MLB player led Twins to their first World Series in ’65…

Michael Mantenuto (1981 - 2017), actor in Miracle

Former actor starred in the 2004 Olympic hockey film "Miracle"...

John Geils Jr. (1946–2017), J. Geils Band leader

Founded the J. Geils Band that made the hits "Freeze Frame" and "Centerfold."

Neil Fingleton (1980 - 2017), Game of Thrones actor

Neil Fingleton, the British-born professional basketball player turned "Game of Thrones" actor, died Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, according to multiple news sources. He was 36.

An Accomplished Life

L. Rodger Currie was one of the youngest Marine Corps dive bomber pilots in World War II and became one of the oldest recipients of the Carnegie Medal for Heroism.

Remembering Car Talk's Tom Magliozzi

Tom Magliozzi and his brother Ray were the co-hosts of NPR's weekly radio show, Car Talk, where they were known as "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers."

The Kennedys

A glance at the Kennedy family tree reveals one of the most remarkable clans in American history.

Louis B. Mayer: Born on the 4th of July?

Louis B. Mayer may or not have been born on July 4th, but he never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Frederick Douglass: An American Narrative

Frederick Douglass celebrated his birthday on Valentine's Day. Two centuries after he was born, we're looking at his early years fighting for the abolition of slavery.

July 4th: A Bad Day for Ex-Presidents

A "great day" in the lives of American revolutionaries John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the 4th of July proved important right up until the end.