Favorite obits of the week
We’re getting really creative …
As an aspiring female journalist, I cannot help but give gratitude to Nan Robertson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times who died Tuesday at the age of 83. Nan made it possible for women to be respected and treated equally in the newsroom at a time when they were regarded as second-class citizens. I don’t think there is a woman in the media who doesn’t owe a great deal to Nan Robertson and her legacy.
Hey, this guy was a Northwestern alum! The obituary really caught the point of Mr. Power’s life–his achievement in Children’s programming production. The comment from George Woolery’s book tells exactly what Mr. Power helped to introduce: basic science and something more meaningful by producing programs. And I also like the quote from Mr. Power before his first broadcast.
Dickie Peterson was the lead singer of Blue Cheer, a rock and roll band that paved the way for bands like Black Sabbath. It’s a band I really like and I think they’re even more important for making music in San Francisco in the late 60s that stood in sharp contrast to bands like the Grateful Dead.
As you may have noticed, I really like historical obits. This one is a Daily telegraph obit of Richard Sonnenfeldt, who was a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany who became the principal interpreter for American prosecutors at the Nuremberg war crimes trials, helping to interrogate some of the most notorious leaders of the Third Reich. I think these kind of human stories of things that a person achieved under such difficult circumstances are fascinating. There’s so much we can learn from that.
Italian singer and actor Al Martino played Johnny Fontaine in The Godfather, a character many suspected to be based off of Frank Sinatra’s mafia connections. It is hard to forget Martino’s entrance in the opening sequence and his pleading with Marlon Brando to persuade a Hollywood director to hire him for a movie role. The Philadephia native also recorded several hit songs during his heyday.
This one isn’t fancy, or well written, or even particluarly enlightening, but my favorite obit of the week is for Peter Pinchera, my high school AP-English teacher. Back in 1994, he convinced me that Shakespeare was interesting, and the Bronte sisters definitely were not. As my friend and high school classmate remarked when I mentioned that I saw this obituary, he lived a good long life.
ED: Thumbs up for the shout out to the high school English teacher. I imagine many Medillians wouldn’t be where they are without such influences.