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Obituaries

In Memory of Keerthi Balasuriya

By David North, December 18, 2012

This article was originally posted on the WSWS in two parts on December 18-19, 2007.

Elliott Carter (1908-2012) and the crisis of contemporary music

By Fred Mazelis, December 6, 2012

American composer Elliott Carter reflected the trajectory of Western classical music in the past century.

Santiago Carrillo, butcher of the Spanish Revolution

By Vicky Short, October 4, 2012

The ex-General Secretary of the Stalinist Communist Party of Spain, Santiago Carrillo, died on Tuesday September 18 at the age of 97.

Art History with a capital A and H: Art critic and social historian Robert Hughes (1938-2012)

By Clare Hurley, August 30, 2012

Australian-born art critic and social historian Robert Hughes (The Shock of the New, The Fatal Shore) died August 6 in New York City after a long illness.

Radical journalist Alexander Cockburn, 1941-2012

By David Walsh, August 14, 2012

Journalist Alexander Cockburn, co-editor of CounterPunch, died July 21 at the age of 71. Cockburn’s active political history extended back to the New Left and the anti-Vietnam War protest movement in Britain in the 1960s.

Film critic Andrew Sarris 1928-2012: An appreciation

An interview with film critic Andrew Sarris

By David Walsh, June 26, 2012

One of the leading American film critics of the past half-century, Andrew Sarris, died in New York City on June 20. The WSWS is reposting an interview we did with Sarris and a review of one of his later books. The interview includes a new introduction.

Rodney King: An individual and social tragedy

By David Brown, June 21, 2012

Rodney King, 47, died last Sunday, 20 years after his brutal beating by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury: 1920-2012

By Christine Schofelt, Hector Cordon, June 14, 2012

The American science fiction and fantasy writer Ray Bradbury was one of the most influential popular authors for the generation that grew up after the Second World War.

Remembering Maurice Sendak

By Christine Schofelt, June 7, 2012

Beloved author and illustrator Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are and many others) died May 8.

US television personality Mike Wallace dead at 93

By David Walsh, April 12, 2012

Mike Wallace, the longtime American television journalist best known for his almost four decades on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” died April 7 at the age of 93.

The death of Joe Paterno and the Penn State scandal

By Hiram Lee, January 27, 2012

Legendary college football coach Joe Paterno, demonized in the media for his role in the Penn State scandal, died January 22 at the age of 85.

On the death of Václav Havel

By Peter Schwarz, December 21, 2011

Havel’s anti-communism, his arrogance towards working people and his unconditional support for the wars of NATO and the US made ​​him the darling of international politics and the media.