Tag Archives: obituary

Elliot Mazer, the longtime producer and engineer who helped craft albums for Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, and the Band, among others, died at his San Francisco home on Sunday. He was 79. Mazer’s daughter Alison confirmed the producer’s death, adding that the cause was a heart attack after years of …

William Blinn, the Emmy-winning screenwriter of Brian’s Song, the Roots miniseries and Prince’s Purple Rain film, has died at the age of 83. Blinn’s family confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the screenwriter died Thursday of natural causesat an assisted living community in Burbank, California. After starting his career as …

Frankie Banali, who played drums on Quiet Riot‘s best-selling albums and kept the band going for nearly four decades, died Thursday at the age of 68. He had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer last April. The band’s agent, Mark Hyman, confirmed the news to Rolling Stone. Banali joined …

British director Sir Alan Parker — whose vast filmography included gangster flicks, musical projects, crime thrillers and comedies — has died, Variety reports. He was 76. The British Film Institute confirmed Parker’s death Friday morning. An exact cause wasn’t given, but he reportedly died after a long illness. Over three …

Astrid Kirchherr, the German-born photographer who first captured the Beatles, has died at the age of 81. German newspaper Die Zeit confirmed Kirchherr’s death, noting the photographer died of a “short, serious illness.” “Intelligent, inspirational, innovative, daring, artistic, awake, aware, beautiful, smart, loving and uplifting friend to many,” Beatles historian …

Jimmy Webb, the iconic manager and buyer from famed New York clothing store Trash and Vaudeville, who later opened his own shop, named I NEED MORE, died Tuesday morning at the age of 62. Webb’s friend Heart Montalbano confirmed his death to Rolling Stone, adding that the cause of death …

D.A. Pennebaker, a champion of the cinéma-vérité approach to documentary, which emphasized intimate portraits of its subjects, died Thursdayfrom natural causes, his son Frazer confirmed to Rolling Stone. He was 94. Chronicling rock stars and political operatives, Pennebaker sought to strip away the artifice — both in nonfiction films and …

13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson, a psychedelic rock icon whose career was cut short due to debilitating mental illness and years spent in a Texas mental hospital, has died of unknown causes at age 71. “Roky Erickson, an heroic icon of modern rock & roll and one of the …

Skip Groff, a Washington, D.C. record store owner who produced and championed the city’s seminal hardcore punk acts, has died at the age of 70. Groff’s wife Kellyconfirmed to WTOP that the owner of D.C.’s Yesterday & Today suffered a seizure Monday and died at a nearby hospital. Dischord Records’ …

Former boxing champion Jake LaMotta died on Tuesday at the age of 95. According to the Associated Press, which confirmed the boxer’s death with fiancee Denise Baker, LaMotta endured “complications of pneumonia” and died in a Miami-area hospital. LaMotta, born on July 10th, 1921, competed in 106 professional bouts during …