Stephen Hawking has passed away. He was 76.
Stephen W. Hawking, the Cambridge University physicist and best-selling author who roamed the cosmos from a wheelchair, pondering the nature of gravity and the origin of the universe and becoming an emblem of human determination and curiosity, died early Wednesday at his home in Cambridge, England.
Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer of The Cranberries, has passed away. She was 46.
The band’s publicist confirmed O’Riordan’s death in a brief statement, “Irish and international singer Dolores O’Riordan has died suddenly in London today. She was 46 years old. The lead singer with the Irish band The Cranberries was in London for a short recording session.”
Lil Peep has passed away. He was 21. Billboard reports:
Lil Peep, an emerging singer, rapper and YouTube star whose debut full-length album dropped in recent months, has died. The Long Beach, New York-raised emo/hip-hop artist (real name Gustav Åhr) was just 21 years of age. Reasons for his passing have not been revealed, though British broadsheet The Guardian cites a suspected overdose.
Fats Domino has passed away. He was 89.
Mr. Domino had more than three dozen Top 40 pop hits through the 1950s and early ’60s, among them “Blueberry Hill,” “Ain’t It a Shame” (also known as “Ain’t That a Shame,” which is the actual lyric), “I’m Walkin’,” “Blue Monday” and “Walkin’ to New Orleans.” Throughout he displayed both the buoyant spirit of New Orleans, his hometown, and a droll resilience that reached listeners worldwide.
He sold 65 million singles in those years, with 23 gold records, making him second only to Elvis Presley as a commercial force. Presley acknowledged Mr. Domino as a predecessor.
Gord Downie has passed away. He was 53.
TMZ is reporting that Tom Petty has been put on life support following a cardiac arrest in his home.
Update: The latest report is that Tom Petty has passed away. He was 66.
Update #2: TMZ is now reporting that “[t]he singer is not expected to live through the day, but he’s still clinging to life.”
Update #3: Tom Petty’s manager has confirmed that Mr. Petty has passed away.
Jason Heller, writing about the passing of Planes Mistaken for Stars’ Matt Bellinger:
A basic obituary isn’t enough to sum up a life, let alone one that had as much impact as Matt’s.
When I met Matt in 1998, I had yet to even dream of being a journalist. Back then, I worked the cash register at Wax Trax, while Matt and the other members of Planes lived in Peoria, Illinois, where they had grown up. Their singer-guitarist, Gared O’Donnell, visited Denver frequently in the ’90s to see his mom, who lived in Colorado.
Matt Novak, writing for Gizmodo:
On September 26, 1983, Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov received a message that five nuclear missiles had been launched by the United States and were heading to Moscow. He didn’t launch a retaliatory strike, believing correctly that it was a false alarm. And with that, he saved the world from nuclear war. But now reports have surfaced that Petrov died this past May. He was 77 years old.
Grant Hart, singer and drummer for Hüsker Dü, has passed away.
The band’s publicist, Ken Weinstein, said the cause was cancer.
Hüsker Dü was formed by Mr. Hart, the guitarist and singer Bob Mould and the bassist Greg Norton in the late 1970s in St. Paul, and soon became known for high-volume blasts of heart-quickening rock that could not quite disguise the hooks buried beneath the noise.
PunkNews is reporting that Matt Bellinger of Planes Mistaken for Stars has passed away:
Strike Anywhere stated, “RIP Matt Bellinger. Devastated to hear of his passing. Planes Mistaken For Stars played an integral part to the early years of Strike Anywheres existence. Kindred spirits and fellow travelers all the way. So many great shows and great memories. Much love to Gared, Mike, Jamie, Chuck and Neil. xoxo”
Walter Becker, co-founder of Steely Dan, has passed away. He was 67.
Jake Fisher, former bassist for Northstar, has passed away.
Heather D. Heyer died standing up for what she believed in.
Friends described her as a passionate advocate for the disenfranchised who was often moved to tears by the world’s injustices. That sense of conviction led her to join demonstrators protesting a rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday.
Glen Campbell has passed away. He was 81.
Adam West passed away over the weekend. He was 88.
To at least a generation of young Bat-lovers, the cheeky ABC series was their true introduction to the DC Comics crime-fighter created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and first popularized in the World War II era. As “American Gods” and “Sandman” writer Neil Gaiman once told Comic Riffs: Decades before he was crafting Batman comics, he was glued to West’s series — this sly, psychedelic-era confection — when he was a boy in Britain who absorbed whatever American pop culture he could find.
Adam West’s portrayal of Batman was one of my first introductions into the character. R.I.P.