Ukrainian church head

PITTSBURGH — The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America says its leader has died. The church says in a statement that 75-year-old Metropolitan Constantine died on Monday morning after a serious illness. He was a life-long resident of Pittsburgh and had led the church since 1993. …

Janet Carroll, 71, played mother of Tom Cruise’s character in ‘Risky Business’

Actress Janet Carroll played the mother of Tom Cruise’s character in the movie “Risky Business,” a breakthrough role in 1983. Ms. Carroll’s son, George Brown, said she died Tuesday in New York after a long illness. She was 71. Her film credits also include “Family …

Wesley Brown, 85, first African-American graduate of U.S. Naval Academy

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Retired Lt. Cmdr. Wesley Brown, the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, died Tuesday, the Academy said. He was 85. He was appointed to the Academy in 1945. He ran varsity track and cross country, and was a …

Man who changed his name to Led Zeppelin dies

His death notice said it perfectly: Led Zeppelin II has climbed the “Stairway to Heaven.” Mr. Zeppelin, a 65-year-old former Chicagoan who used to be known as George Blackburn, changed his name in 2010 to Led Zeppelin II to honor the rock gods he had …

Couch potatoes have lost a friend; Glen Ellyn man invented first wireless TV remote

Couch potatoes everywhere, you owe a debt of gratitude to Eugene “Gene” Polley, who died Sunday at 96 at a Downers Grove hospital. Polley invented the first wireless TV remote control in 1955 while working as an engineer for Zenith. The “Flash-Matic” is now in the Smithsonian Institution.

Original Chicago Bull

OMAHA, Neb. — Bob Boozer, one of the original Chicago Bulls and a member of the dominating 1960 Olympic basketball team, has died of a brain aneurysm. He was 75. Ella Boozer said that her husband died Saturday afternoon at an Omaha hospital. He had …

Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees dies

Robin Gibb, one of the three Bee Gees whose falsetto harmonies powered such hits as “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever” and defined the flashy disco era died Sunday, his representative said. He was 62.

Rev. Vilis Varsbergs, 82, founded camp for displaced Latvians

There’s no telling how many Latvian Americans owe their existence to Oak Brook’s Rev. Vilis Varsbergs. The Latvian camp he helped found in 1965 on 170 acres of land near Kalamazoo reunited a scattered immigrant community ravaged by World War II-era Stalinist deportation and German …

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, 86, legendary German baritone

German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who performed for more than five decades on world stages. He was 86. Known primarily as a specialist in lieder (German art songs), he died at his home in the southern German city of Starnberg. His wife, soprano Julia Varady, confirmed his death to the German press agency DPA.

Herbert Breslin, 87, manager for Pavarotti

NEW YORK — Herbert Breslin, the hard-driving manager who helped propel Luciano Pavarotti to international fame during the 36 years they worked together, has died, his wife said. He was 87.

Mr. Breslin collapsed at his hotel in Nice, France, on Wednesday and died at …

‘Ed’ Ray, 91, bus driver saved kidnapped California children buried in 1976

FRESNO, Calif. — Frank Edward “Ed” Ray, a school bus driver who became a hero for helping 26 California students escape after three kidnappers buried them in a storage van in 1976, has died. He was 91.

Mr. Ray died Thursday from complications of cirrhosis …

Former champ was one of the best boxers Chicago produced

People said you could throw a whole handful of BB pellets at boxer Eddie Perkins, and not one of them would strike home. That’s how elusive Mr. Perkins was in the ring. With a quick dodge just an inch to the left or right, the two-time world junior welterweight champ usually avoided a fist finding his flesh. Muhammad Ali used to watch Mr. Perkins and other lighter-weight fighters in order to mimic their fast reflexes when they trained at the legendary Coulon’s gym on 63rd Street. One of the finest boxers Chicago ever produced, Mr. Perkins died May 10 at

Donna Summer, queen of disco, dead at 63

A long run on the charts ends for Donna Summer, whose pulsing anthems such as “Last Dance,” ‘’Love to Love You Baby” and “Bad Girls” became the soundtrack for a glittery age of sex, drugs, dance and flashy clothes.

Chuck Brown, pioneer of ‘go-go’ funk music, dies at 75

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chuck Brown, who styled a unique mix of funk, soul and Latin party sounds to create go-go music in the nation’s capital, has died after suffering from pneumonia. He was 75.

Brown, widely acclaimed as the “Godfather of go-go” for his pioneering …

Kevin Hickey, a long shot who fulfilled a neighborhood dream, dies at 56

Kevin Hickey was the South Side’s Natural — a punk kid from Burroughs Playground in Brighton Park who by sheer will, talent and a little luck of the Irish made it to the big leagues to pitch for the Chicago White Sox, his favorite team. Hickey, a batting practice pitcher for the club, died on Wednesday. He was 56.