Janice Voss, 55, astronaut worked for NASA as a teenager

HOUSTON — NASA astronaut Janice Voss, who first worked for the space agency as a teenager and flew five shuttle missions in seven years, has died. She was 55.

The agency said in a statement Tuesday that Ms. Voss died overnight after a battle with …

Bill Hinzman, 75, first zombie onscreen in ‘Night of the Living Dead’

Bill Hinzman, credited with helping to give birth to a new horror film genre for his chilling role as the first zombie to lurch onscreen in “Night of the Living Dead,” used to joke with his family that they had better handle his funeral arrangements …

Former principal of DuSable High Charles Mingo dies

Charles E. Mingo was a nationally recognized educator who stood by his teachers and stood for no nonsense in his classrooms. “I have a very harsh penalty for fighting,” Mr. Mingo said in 1993, after winning a Milken National Educator Award for his work as …

Nello Ferrara, 93, invented Lemonheads, saw MacArthur in occupied Japan, sang with Sinatra

Nello Ferrara was a singer who liked to serenade people. But to snackers with a sweet tooth, he was better known as the inventor of spicy-hot Atomic FireBalls and lip-puckering Lemonheads. Mr. Ferrara, the chairman of Chicago’s Ferrara Pan Candy Co., died Friday at his …

Virginia Rabung, 94, pioneering pilot flew to Batista’s Cuba

In 1943, Virginia Rabung, a secretary from Chicago, trekked by bus to a small airport in McCook, marched into the office in her high heels and told the men that she wanted to fly. “They looked at her like she was from another planet,” said …

Reporter covered the fall of Saigon

George Esper, the tenacious Associated Press correspondent who refused to leave his post in the last days of the Vietnam War, remaining behind to cover the fall of Saigon, has died. He was 79. Mr. Esper died in his sleep on Thursday night, his son, …

Far-right Hungarian politician

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Istvan Csurka, a Hungarian anti-Soviet dissident playwright and later far-right nationalist politician who was criticized at home and abroad for his anti-semitic articles, died Saturday at age 77. Mr. Csurka’s death was announced by his family. He had been hospitalized in recent …

Producer of ‘91/2 Weeks’

LOS ANGELES — Actor and filmmaker Zalman King, who became known for his erotic work after writing and producing his breakthrough film “91/2 Weeks,” has died. He was 70. Mr. King’s son-in-law Allison Burnett said the filmmaker died Friday morning at his home in Santa …

Filmmaker dies in copter crash

LOS ANGELES — Mike DeGruy, an award-winning cinematographer who spent three decades making documentary films about the ocean, was killed in a helicopter crash in eastern Australia. He was 60. His employer, National Geographic, said Sunday that Mr. DeGruy and Australian television writer-producer Andrew Wight …

Worked front office for Archdiocese cemeteries

After a particularly trying day at the cemetery, Gerry Cahill might joke around the dinner table that it was only family members of the deceased who complained, never the dead themselves. But when the words did not come so readily, it often meant Dad had …

Mary O’Brien, who loved to dance and had a firm belief in God’s plan

Mary P. O’Brien had a childhood that the Irish call “lovely.” Her parents adored her and her 12 brothers and sisters. They had a bounteous vegetable garden, two cows and a pony with a cart for riding. The children would line up in the evening …

Nick, Aaron Carter’s singing sister dies at 25

ALBANY, N.Y. — Singer Leslie Carter, the sister of Aaron Carter and former Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, has died in upstate New York. She was 25. Ms. Carter’s single “Like Wow” was on the soundtrack for “Shrek” in 2001. In 2006, she appeared with her …

Cornelius remembered as ‘an American treasure’

News of “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius’ death Wednesday was greeted with sadness but also a sense of appreciation for all the Chicago native accomplished with his life and his ground-breaking show. Here’s a sampling of the reaction:

◆ Aretha Franklin , an early “Soul …

Don Cornelius spoke of ‘Soul Train’s’ power in 2010 Chicago Sun-Times interview

Don Cornelius, who shot himself to death Wednesday at his home outside Los Angeles, spoke in a 2010 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times about the power of “Soul Train,” the iconic dance and music show he created at WCIU-Channel 26.

‘Soul Train’ creator, South Side native Cornelius dead in suicide

Don Cornelius, the South Side native who founded and hosted the iconic TV music and dance show “Soul Train,” shot himself to death Wednesday morning at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., Los Angeles police say.