Deaths (Obituaries)

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      Harold Meltzer, Composer of Impossible-to-Pigeonhole Works, Dies at 58

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      His music, which was performed by many prominent ensembles, mixed melodic themes and rich textures with the sharp-edged angularity of modernism.Harold Meltzer, a composer who set aside a career as a lawyer to create a highly regarded body of energetic, colorful chamber, vocal and orchestral scores that mixed accessibly melodic themes and rich ensemble textures with the sharp-edged angularity of modernism, died on Aug. 12 in Manhattan. He was 58.Hilary Meltzer, his wife, said that his death, in a hospital, was caused by respiratory failure, a complication of a variety of medical problems he had withstood since having a stroke in 2019.Mr. Meltzer, who was also a director (first with David Amato, later with Sara Laimon) of Sequitur, a new-music ensemble, cut an imposing figure at contemporary music concerts in the 1990s and 2000s.Bespectacled, with wavy hair, he invariably entertained friends during intermissions with wry observations about the music world in general, or the events of the day. Even after his stroke, when he began using a wheelchair, he was determined to maintain something approximating his earlier level of activity, and after only two months of therapy, he appeared as the narrator for his theater work “Sindbad,” a humorous 2005 setting of a Donald Barthelme story that was one of his most frequently performed works.His music was impossible to pigeonhole, mainly because each work was his response to a different set of challenges. In “Virginal” (2002), for harpsichord and 15 other instruments, he wanted to pay tribute to William Byrd, John Bull and other Elizabethan composers whose works were included in the “Fitzwilliam Virginal Book,” a collection of English Renaissance keyboard pieces. To avoid creating a pastiche, he did not quote from any of their music, focusing instead on the structures and processes (repeating figuration., for example) that made their music distinct.If there was one element that connected many of Mr. Meltzer’s works, it was an imaginative use of tone color. Metalli Studio, via the Civitella Ranieri FoundationWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Phil Donahue, Daytime Talk Show Host, Dies at 88

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      Phil Donahue, who in the 1960s reinvented the television talk show with a democratic flourish, inviting audiences to question his guests on topics as resolutely high-minded as human rights and international relations, and as unblushingly lowbrow as male strippers and safe-sex orgies, died on Sunday at his home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He was 88.His death was confirmed by Susan Arons, a representative of the family.“The Phil Donahue Show” made its debut in 1967 on WLWD-TV in Dayton, Ohio, propelling Mr. Donahue on a 29-year syndicated run, much of it as the unchallenged king of daytime talk television.Almost from the start, “The Phil Donahue Show” dispensed with familiar trappings. There was no opening monologue, no couch, no sidekick, no band — just the host and the guests, focused on a single topic.At the time, audiences were expected to be seen and not heard, unless prompted to applaud. Mr. Donahue changed that. He quickly realized from chatting with audience members during commercial breaks that some of them asked sharper questions than he did. And so he began his practice of stalking the aisles, microphone in hand, and letting those in the seats have their say. He also opened the telephone lines to those watching at home. Electronic democracy, as some called it, had arrived.Few subjects, if any, were off limits for Mr. Donahue, who was said to have told his staff, “I want all the topics hot.” It mattered little that at times the subjects made some viewers, and local station managers, squirm. His very first guest was guaranteed to stir controversy: Madalyn Murray O’Hair, at the time America’s most famous, and widely unpopular, atheist.Mr. Donahue’s very first guest was Madalyn Murray O’Hair, at the time America’s most famous, and widely unpopular, atheist.via Everett CollectionWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Perry Kurtz, Comedian Who Appeared on ‘America’s Got Talent,’ Dies at 73

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      Mr. Kurtz, who was killed in a hit-and-run on Thursday, honed his routine over decades and eventually became a recognizable face at comedy institutions.Perry Kurtz, who worked stand-up comedy circuits for decades and appeared on “America’s Got Talent” and “The Late Late Show With James Corden,” died on Thursday night in a hit-and-run in Los Angeles. He was 73.A daughter, Zelda Velazquez, confirmed his death. Mr. Kurtz was crossing Ventura Boulevard when he was struck by a car, according to the authorities. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver was later arrested.Mr. Kurtz was a familiar face in long-established comedy halls, such as the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, but rose to prominence on the national stage with an appearance on “America’s Got Talent” in 2013 in which he performed a rap wearing a silver suit that gleamed like a disco ball.The performance did not go over well with the judges, who eliminated him from the competition, but it fit a campy persona that Mr. Kurtz embraced.On “The Late Late Show With James Corden” in 2018, Mr. Kurtz walked onstage wearing thick suspenders and a Hawaiian shirt, a keytar hanging around his neck. He proceeded to play “Louie Louie,” made famous by the Kingsmen, using his tongue.“In 1979 I moved to San Francisco to pursue my dream,” Mr. Kurtz said in a 2022 interview with Shoutout LA. “Since then, the only job I’ve had is making people laugh.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Maurice Williams, Whose ‘Stay’ Was a Hit for Him and Others, Dies at 86

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      A chart topper in 1960 for him and his doo-wop group the Zodiacs, it inspired several notable cover versions and was heard in the 1987 film “Dirty Dancing.”Maurice Williams, the singer and songwriter whose 1960 single “Stay,” recorded with his doo-wop group the Zodiacs, shot to No. 1 and became a cover-song staple for a long line of musical acts, including the Four Seasons, the Hollies and Jackson Browne, died on Aug. 6 in Charlotte, N.C. He was 86.His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by Ron Henderson, a former member of the Zodiacs.Mr. Williams owed a considerable career debt to a girl he dated when he was 15. She provided the inspiration for his two biggest hits: “Little Darlin’,” recorded when his group was called the Gladiolas, which hit No. 41 on the Billboard pop chart in 1957; and “Stay,” which briefly topped the chart in 1960.Mr. Williams recalled the origins of “Stay,” his only chart-topping single, in a 2018 video interview. “This young lady I was going with, she was over to my house, and this particular night, her brother was supposed to pick her up at 10,” he said. “So he came, and I said, ‘Well, you can stay a little longer.’ And she said, ‘No, I gotta go.’”The next morning he woke up and wove that and other snippets from their conversation — “Now, your daddy don’t mind/And your mommy don’t mind” — into song form, building to its indelible signature line, which, seven years later, the Zodiacs’ Henry Gaston would render in a celestial falsetto: “Oh, won’t you stay, just a little bit longer.”Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs’ recording of the song stood out not only for its infectious hooks but also for its eye-blink length — slightly over 90 seconds.“We wanted to make it short so it would get more airplay,” Mr. Williams said. And, he added, “It worked.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Jerry Fuller, Writer of ‘Young Girl’ and Other Hit Songs, Dies at 85

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      He located a musical sweet spot between the romantic and the risqué for Ricky Nelson, Johnny Mathis and most famously Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.Jerry Fuller, a songwriter who helped give the sexual revolution a Top 40 soundtrack, died on July 18 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 85.The cause was complications of lung cancer, his wife, Annette Fuller, said.Mr. Fuller had a brief solo career as a crooner, starting in the late 1950s. Though he would become well known as a songwriter a decade later, his compositions retained some of the earnestness of this earlier period.Gary Puckett and the Union Gap had a hit with Mr. Fuller’s song “Young Girl” in 1968. In later decades the song would draw scorn for its upbeat treatment of an older man’s flirtation with an underage girl.Columbia RecordsHe specialized in love songs, and in songs about lustful desire that sounded like love songs. His first major hit was “Travelin’ Man,” about a globe-trotter who sings, “In every port I own the heart/Of at least one lovely girl.” Ricky Nelson took it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.The song — which boasts of “a pretty señorita waiting for me down in old Mexico,” “my sweet fräulein down in Berlin town” and “my cute little eskimo” in Alaska — emphasizes the yearning behind each affair rather than conquest.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Jack Russell, Great White Singer and Survivor of Nightclub Fire, Dies at 63

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      At a show in 2003 with his “Jack Russell’s Great White,” a pyrotechnics display ignited a fire that killed 100 people, including the band’s guitarist.Jack Russell, the singer who led the popular 1980s hard rock band Great White, as well as a spinoff group that set off one of the deadliest nightclub fires ever, has died. He was 63.The cause of death was lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy, said K.L. Doty, the author of Mr. Russell’s autobiography. No other details were given.Mr. Russell’s death was announced in a post on his official Instagram profile on Thursday and confirmed by Ms. Doty. Great White also paid tribute to his death on its Instagram page.Mr. Russell co-founded Great White with guitarist Mark Kendall. The band, originally called Dante Fox, began playing in small clubs in Southern California in the early 1980s. It became Great White in 1984. The group’s first big hit, “Rock Me,” landed the No. 60 spot on the Billboard Top 100 Chart in 1987.Great White found success with its third album, which featured its biggest hit, “Once Bitten Twice Shy.” The song reached No. 5 in 1989 and earned the band a 1990 Grammy nomination.Mr. Russell briefly left Great White in 1996 to build a solo career but returned in 1999. By 2001, Great White had disbanded.In 2002, Mr. Russell and Mr. Kendall hired three new musicians and began touring as Jack Russell’s Great White, playing in small clubs. In February 2003, while performing at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., the band’s pyrotechnics ignited a deadly fire that killed 100 people, including Great White’s guitarist, and left 230 injured. It was one of the worst club fires in U.S. history.The two brothers who owned the club, and installed the highly flammable soundproofing foam around its stage, and the band’s tour manager, who lit the blaze, were charged in connection with the fire.Mr. Russell was not charged, but members of the band agreed to pay a $1 million settlement.By 2005, Jack Russell’s Great White parted ways after “the stress from lawsuits, inner band turmoil, and Russell’s substance abuse problems, had taken its toll,” according to the All Music Guide.Great White reunited in 2007, but it was short-lived. Mr. Russell continued making music with Jack Russell’s Great White. He announced in an Instagram post in July that he was retiring because of his health problems.“I am unable to perform at the level I desire and at the level you deserve,” Mr. Russell wrote. “Words cannot express my gratitude for the many years of memories, love, and support.”Jack Patrick Russell was born on Dec. 5, 1960 in Montebello, Calif. He grew up in Whittier, Calif., and dropped out of high school to pursue music.He is survived by his wife, Heather Ann Russell, and his son, Matthew Hucko. More

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      Greg Kihn, Who Scored Hits With ‘Jeopardy’ and ‘The Breakup Song,’ Dies at 75

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      Mr. Kihn later became a popular morning disc jockey in the San Francisco Bay Area.Greg Kihn, the singer-songwriter whose band scored hits with “Jeopardy” and “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ’Em),” in the 1980s and who went on to become a popular radio disc jockey, died on Tuesday at health care facility in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was 75.The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a statement posted on his website on Thursday.Mr. Kihn rose to fame in the early 1980s as the frontman of the Greg Kihn Band, a California pop group. Mr. Kihn crafted songs that blended folk, classic rock, blues and pop. He’d achieved some success with several songs before his first big hit, “The Breakup Song,” written with Steve Wright, the band’s bass guitarist, reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981.“I can tell you, life with a hit record is much better than life without a hit record,” Mr. Kihn said in a 2011 interview on the website LikeTotally80s.The band’s biggest hit, “Jeopardy,” which he also wrote with Mr. Wright, reached the No. 2 spot on the Hot 100 chart in 1983.The “Jeopardy” music video was practically on a loop on MTV that year. Weird Al Yankovic parodied the song with “I Lost on Jeopardy,” which featured Don Pardo, who for many years was an announcer on the “Jeopardy” television game show. Mr. Kihn, who said in interviews he was flattered to be parodied, also appeared at the end of Weird Al’s video for the song, driving a convertible with the license plate “LOSER.”In the mid-1990s, Mr. Kihn became a morning radio disc jockey for the classic rock radio station KFOX in the San Francisco Bay area, a job he held until 2012.In 2017 he released “ReKihndled,” his first studio album in more than 20 years.He also published six novels, including two that were music-themed: “Painted Black,” a fictional thriller about the death of Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones; and “Rubber Soul,” a fictional thriller about the Beatles. He also contributed to and edited “Carved In Rock,” an anthology of short stories by rock musicians including Pete Townsend of The Who, Ray Davies of The Kinks and Joan Jett. Gregory Stanley Kihn was born on July 10, 1949, in Baltimore. He moved to the San Francisco Bay area in the early 1970s, The San Francisco Examiner reported.Mr. Kihn is survived by his wife, Jay Arafiles-Kihn;a son, Ryan Kihn; a daughter, Alexis Harrington-Kihn; a sister, Laura Otremba; and two grandchildren.In an August 2018 interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mr. Kihn said he had had great opportunities throughout his career.“I look back on my career and it’s been a stunning success, and I love that it was varied,” Mr. Kihn said. “I’ve been very blessed.”A complete obituary will follow. More

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      Peter Marshall, Longtime Host of ‘The Hollywood Squares,’ Dies at 98

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      He played straight man to all manner of celebrities, asking questions on what was for many years the most popular game show on television.Peter Marshall, who coaxed cheeky rejoinders from celebrities like Burt Reynolds, Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers and Paul Lynde as the longtime host of “The Hollywood Squares,” for years one of the most popular game shows on television, died on Thursday at his home in Encino, Calif. He was 98.His wife of 35 years, Laurie Marshall, said the cause was kidney failure.Mr. Marshall, an actor, singer and comedian with an authoritative baritone, hosted “The Hollywood Squares” from 1966 until 1981. The show brought him four Daytime Emmy Awards.“The Hollywood Squares,” which stuffed celebrity guests and risqué humor into a daytime game show, was a variation on tic-tac-toe, played by two contestants on a set that featured a grid of nine squares rising above the stage, a celebrity guest seated in each.A contestant would choose a square, Mr. Marshall would ask the star inside it a question, and the star would usually respond with a quip — a zinger, in the show’s parlance — before giving a serious answer. The contestant would then tell Mr. Marshall whether he or she thought the star had answered correctly, and the square would be won if the contestant was right. The first contestant to complete a line won the game; the first to win two games won cash and prizes.The center square was reserved for the funniest celebrity; the comedian Paul Lynde occupied it for much of the show’s run.Mr. Marshall, center, with an early group of “Hollywood Squares” panelists. From left: Wally Cox, Abby Dalton, Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam.NBC, via Everett CollectionWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More