Author, Hugo-winner, professor, and pioneer writer on the subject of AI and the technological singularity, Vernor Vinge, is dead at 79 from Parkinson’s disease.
Category Archives: Obituary
Al Jaffee dead at 102
The Reuben Award-winning cartoonist, best known for his work with Mad magazine, has died at the age of 102. Jaffee will be remembered for the Mad Fold-ins, ridiculous magic tricks, and Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions– which makes me wonder what he said when someone asked him to what he owed his long life.
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R.I.P., Aline Kominsky Crumb
Aline Kominsky Crumb, a major figure in the Underground Comix movement, died November 29, 2022, at the age of 74.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Crumb and their daughter Sophie, also comix artists of note.
Nichelle Nichols, R.I.P.
Nichelle Nichols, the groundbreaking actress best-known as Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek series and subsequent films, has died of natural causes. She was 89 years old.
Alan Grant, R.I.P.
Legendary and influential comics writer Alan Grant has died at the age of 73. He is best-known for his work on Batman and Judge Dredd.
Neal Adams, R.I.P.
Neal Adams, the influential artist who worked for Marvel and DC (also Archie, Charlton, and Warren), drew some of the most memorable covers in comics history, co-created Manbat, John Stewart, and Ra’s al Ghul, reshaped Batman, and fought for comic creators’ rights, has died at 80.
Below is an interview from 2020.
Douglas Trumbull, VFX Pioneer has passed away
While Douglas Trumbull might not be a household name, his work certainly was pioneering. He supervised the VFX on classic films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Blade Runner. He even directed one of my personal favorites, Silent Running.
Arguably, he’s the man who invented “Starship Porn”.
He passed away at the age of 79 after fighting cancer, a brain tumor, and a stroke.
Anne Rice, Requiescat in Pace
Anne Rice, the writer who birthed or at least midwifed the late-twentieth-century vampire mania, has died at the age of 80 (December 11), surrounded by her family. She will be interred in a family mausoleum in New Orleans. A more public celebration of her life will take place at some future date.
She first gained fame with Interview with the Vampire (1976), a modern reconsideration of the undead mythos, and went on to pen multiple works in gothic, fantastic, erotic, and religious genres (mostly as Anne Rice, but she also penned a few as Anne Rampling and A.N. Roquelaure). Her works have been widely adapted in other media including movies and graphic novels. The rights for future adaptations were purchased by AMC.
Anne Rice will be missed by family, friends, and her legions of fans.
Rest in Peace: Petra Mayer
Petra Mayer, NPR book editor and reviewer and long-time promoter of SF, fantasy, and comics, has died suddenly on November 13 as the result of a (probable) pulmonary embolism. She was 46.
In addition to her help promoting SF and Fantasy to a broader audience, she also worked for two years as an audio editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and she made a number of appearances at SF conventions.
Requiescat in pace.
Joanna Cameron dies at 70
Oh zephyr winds which blow on high
Lift me now so I can fly
Joanna Cameron, most famous for playing the superhero Isis on 1970s TV, has died at 70 as a result of a stroke.