Josh Culbreath, a three-time 

 Penn Relays champion, three

 -time American champion, 

 and two-time Pan-American 

 Games champion in the 400 

 meter of 440 yard hurdles, 

 died aged 88. 

(September 14, 1932 – July 1, 2021)

Josh Culbreath, a Norristown native, and Olympic hurdles winner died in hospice care in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 88, according to his family. At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, Culbreath won bronze in the 400-meter hurdles. In 2008, Culbreath was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame.

While at Morgan State in the 1950s, Norristown's Josh Culbreath won three consecutive national outdoor titles in the 400-meter hurdles, but every time he flew somewhere to compete, people would see him, a point at his 5-foot-7 stature, and laugh.

“They would remark, 'That's the 400 hurdles champion?'” his son, Jahan, recounted on Saturday. "However, he'd add, 'It didn't bother me.'" Nothing came out of my mouth. The lesson I would tell them is that the best thing I can do when that gun goes off is to show them what an American champion is made of. They don't know my heart and abilities, no matter how tall, small, or whatever I am.'

Josh Culbreath, 88, a 1956 Olympic bronze winner who subsequently became a successful coach at Central State in Ohio, died Thursday in hospice care near his son's house in Cincinnati. Jahan Culbreath claimed his father's health has been deteriorating for a few weeks.

For many years, Culbreath had a rich life. He worked out every day until he was 80 years old, with many of those days spent in the gym. He also enjoyed racing go-carts, and when he was 86, his son recalled many trips to the indoor racetrack. At every level of competition, Culbreath excelled in several hurdles events.

Culbreath, began his hurdles career as a student at Norristown High School, where he placed second in the country in the 220-yard low hurdles in 1951 and won the state title. In addition to the three national outdoor titles he won from 1953 to 1955, he also won the same event at the Penn Relays in the same years, and was one of the first inductees into the carnival's Wall of Fame.

After graduating from Morgan State University with a degree in political science in 1956, he joined the United States Marine Corps and served until 1958. During that period, he was a member of the United States Olympic squad and won a medal in the 1956 Melbourne Games.

He also won gold medals in the 400 hurdles at the Pan American Games in 1955 and 1959. He achieved world records in the 300-yard and 440-yard hurdles while running for the Quantico Marines. He was chosen to the United States squad for the 1958 and 1959 dual meetings between the United States and the Soviet Union, the latter of which he won the 400 hurdles at Franklin Field.

In early 1988, Culbreath took over as the track and field coach at Central State University. He went on to win 10 NAIA championships with his squad. Deon Hemmings, the gold medallist in the 400m hurdles, was one of four of his athletes that competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He became the athletic director at Morehouse College in Atlanta after his tenure as a coach at Central State.

Culbreath, who graduated from Temple University with a master's degree in teaching, was also a forerunner for future Black athletes. He competed at meetings in the South, where segregation was still in effect but claimed the competitors' friendship, both black and white, remained strong.

He ran for the Philadelphia Pioneers and then the Philadelphia Masters after serving in the Marines. The Penn Relays was one tournament he never missed. Mr. Culbreath's first triumph, according to Dave Johnson, the carnival's retiring director, was in the Suburban A mile relay for Norristown High.

Culbreath raced against his long-time opponent, Dr. Cliff Huxtable, at the 1985 Penn Relays, in which he played Col. Sanford B. “Tailwind” Turner in an episode of The Cosby Show. When he took over as Central State's head coach in 1988, his son stated that "everyone knew who Tailwind Turner was."

Cause of death: unknown.

 The Legend of Korra, 

 Digimon Philece Sampler (67), 

 a voice artist and television 

 actress, died of a heart attack 

 at her home in Los Angeles, 

 California. 

(July 16, 1953 – July 1, 2021)

Philece Sampler, a well-known voice actress and television performer, has died. She allegedly had a heart attack at her Los Angeles home. Philece Sampler was a prominent voice actor in the field of animation, lending her voice to over 50 animated productions and many video games.

Sampler is most well-known for voicing. Sampler has provided voice work for a broad range of characters in anime and video game series such as Digimon, Eureka Seven, and The Legend of Korra. Philece Sampler died abruptly in her home, according to author Peggy Webb's Twitter account. Nelson Aspen, a journalist, expanded on the reason of death in a poignant Instagram post.

Aspen remembered Sampler as a generous and committed professional in his eulogy.

Sampler went to Hollywood after graduating from the University of North Texas with a theatre degree in 1975, and immediately secured guest appearances in a few television movies and series, including The Incredible Hulk in season 4, episode 59 titled "Dark Side."

Philece Sampler began her acting career on 'Days of Our Lives,' an American soap opera. Renee's character was the subject of a big murder mystery in 1983, ending in one of daytime's most dramatic send-offs. Following her breakthrough, she went on to star in another television drama, 'Another World,' on the television series Rituals, which aired from 1984 to 1985

Sampler then put her voice to work in English-language anime and video game dubs.

Sampler has portrayed both masculine and female parts in her career, including Cody from Digimon and old characters like Toph in The Legend of Korra and Tiptory in Eureka Seven. Mayumi Matsushita in AI: The Somnium Files and Mrs. Carpenter in Deadly Premonition 2 are two of her most recent roles.

On Real Monsters, Sampler did a voice-over for "Ollie Ollie Oxen Free." She appeared as Emma (Chuckie's love interest) in the episode "He Saw, She Saw" on Nickelodeon's Rugrats. She went on to voice Francine, a character from the Rugrats spin-off series All Grown Up!, and Mimi Tachikawa in the Digimon anime series.

Cause of death: heart attack.

 Bryan St. Pere, the drummer 

 for the alternative rock band 

 Hum, died at the age of 52. 

(1969 – July 1, 2021)

Bryan St. Pere, the former drummer for the alternative rock band Hum, passed away at the age of 52. The band acknowledged his passing on social media. St. Pere was also a member of the Amblare band from Indiana.

St. Pere was drawn to the drums at a young age, and he began performing in rock bands as early as the seventh grade. St. Pere said he was so inspired by Rush's Neil Peart that he bought Pert Plus shampoo during an appearance with The Trap Set podcast.

“That's like it was the only band I listened to for two or three years. “It was all Rush in eighth grade, sophomore year of high school,” he said podcast host Joe Wong. When asked if he had ever seen them live, St. Pere said, "yes, maybe six times."

Matt Talbott, the famous shoegaze band's guitarist, and vocalist, co-founded the band in 1989. The next year, Bryan St. Pere joined the group. He was allegedly recruited to join the lineup when the rest of the band saw him practicing Rush song drum sections as they walked by his window. Hum's first album, Fillet Show, was released in 1991.

Bryan St. Pere appeared on all 5 of the Hum's albums, including "Stars," from 1995's "You'd Prefer An Astronaut," which is their most well-known song. Though St. Pere did not participate in Hum's reunion tour in 2015, he did perform on their surprise 2020 album, 'Inlet,' they're first in nearly 20 years.

St. Pere discussed the story of his beginnings with the Trap Set podcast in early 2018, crediting Rush drummer Neil Pert for inspiring him to play the drums. He stated that because of his dedication to the late musician, he began using Pert Plus shampoo as a child.

Hum's biggest long-lasting commercial success came with the track Stars from their album You'd Prefer An Astronaut, released in 1995. It was their most successful single, peaking at number 11 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks list and number 28 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The drumming technique of HST. Pere has been described as a combination of strong hardcore beats and the spaced-out shoegaze that flowed throughout Hum's discography. “We're a bit of a snobby band. “We don't go into the studio to drink beers and record rock and then leave,” St. Pere said of the band last year in an interview with Crash Bang Boom Drumming.

Cause of death: unknown.

 Jolien Verschueren, 

 a Belgian cross rider who 

 had been battling a brain 

 tumor, has sadly died at the 

 age of 31. 

(7 May 1990 – 2 July 2021)

The World cycling world mourns Jolien Verschueren. After a valiant battle with cancer, the 31-year-old cyclocross athlete died Friday night. Even after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2018, she continued to cycle.
 
Jolien Verschueren had to stop riding her cross bike for a period after undergoing brain surgery in April 2018. A tumor in the brain had been detected a few years previously following a fall during training, and that tumor had turned out to be cancerous.
 
Despite the defeat, Verschueren remained determined and belligerent. The cyclocross cyclist, a kindergarten teacher by trade, demonstrated her tenacity by returning to the field at the end of 2019. Although the results were secondary, Verschueren was able to complete a whole winter full of battling spirit.
 
During that time, she 'simply' kept cycling and was dubbed a true go-getter. She spoke about this at the time in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws: "I'm now riding a difficult course, but I'm motivated to return. I am optimistic about the outcome since I am a die-hard and am surrounded by wonderful parents and supporters, as well as because I can depend on my faith."

Verschueren declared in March 2020 that she will form her cycling team when her contract with Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal was not renewed. However, she barely played for the 'Tauris team' last winter. Verschueren died last night, according to the Belgian Cycling Federation.
 
She was one of the greatest female motocross racers in Belgium until her illness, and she twice won the difficult Koppenbergcross in Oudenaarde. Everyone at Belgian Cycling is very grieved by the death of Jolien Verschueren, who died last night at the age of 31. Jolien was recognized for her fighting spirit, but she was also a great teammate and friend.
 
 Cause of death: brain tumor.

 American rower and coach, 

 former Olympic champion 

 Ted Nash, died aged 88. 

(October 29, 1932 – July 3, 2021)

Ted Nash, the great American rower, and coach who won a gold medal in coxless fours at the 1960 Summer Olympics as well as gold medals in 1959 and 1963 Pan American Games, died of natural causes at the age of 88.

He was a member of 11 Olympic teams, winning a gold medal in the coxless four in 1960, a bronze medal in the coxless four in 1964, and serving as a coach on nine more. He's never been the head coach; instead, he works with rowers who were cut from boats during the camp-selection process, polishing them into fine-tuned crews.

Nash was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb, before his family relocated to California. He served his country in the Army and Army Reserves before going on to represent the United States in the Olympic movement for the next 50 years.

Nash made his first Olympic squad in 1960, winning a gold medal in the men's four, and returned four years later to win a bronze medal in the same event in Tokyo.

Nash began coaching at the University of Pennsylvania as a freshman coach in 1965 before becoming head coach from 1969 to 1983, earning Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships in 1969 and 1972. He coached at Penn Athletic Club for 30 years, working with several elite-level men's and women's competitors.
 
Nash's first international coaching position was with the men's pair with coxswain at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, where the crew won gold. His last international coaching medals came at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he coached the gold men's eight, silver men's four, silver lightweight men's four, and silver men's pair.
 
Nash has competed in the Olympics for both the men's and women's teams, winning silver medals in the men's four in 1988 and 1992. He worked alongside men's head coach Mike Teti on the eight, which went on to win gold in Athens in 2004. In 1968 in Mexico City, he coached the men's four with coxswain for the first time, and he finished his Olympic coaching career with the men's pair in 2008 (Beijing Olympic games).

His devotion and passion to those that row for him is unrivaled. It's no surprise that he's was popular. Here's a sampling of some of Ted Nash's best stories. The men's eight was at Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in the last phases of training for the Athens Olympics in 2004. Pete Cipollone, the coxswain, has finally discovered the perfect fin for their Hudson shell after testing out many different fins.

Nash was awarded the Medal of Honor by USRowing in 2013, which is granted to a member of the rowing community in the United States who has offered outstanding service to rowing or done exceptional accomplishments in the sport. It is the highest accolade that the United States Rowing Association can confer.

Nash was a father figure and mentor to hundreds of rowers, and he was adored by his athletes.

Cause of death: natural causes. 

 American rockabilly and 

 country star, Sanford Clark 

 ("The Fool,"), Who Influenced 

 Elvis Presley, died from 

 COVID-19 in Joplin, 

 Missouri, U.S. 

(October 24, 1935 - July 4, 2021)

Sanford Clark, best known for his 1956 Top 10 song "The Fool," died of COVID-19 in Joplin, Missouri, according to his family. He was undergoing cancer therapy at the time he became infected with the coronavirus.

Sanford Clark made his breakthrough in 1956 with writer/producer Lee Hazlewood's "The Fool," which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1965, he re-recorded the song with Waylon Jennings on guitar. The song was included in the Academy Award-winning 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club, and it has been recorded by a variety of musicians, including Elvis Presley.

Clark recorded "Son of a Gun," a song about the son of a western gunman, in early 1959. This song is also mentioned in Keith Richards' book Life, which was released in October 2010. He considers the song to be one of the first he learnt and performed on stage before joining the Rolling Stones.

Presley recorded the song twice, once for personal use while serving in the Army and again for commercial distribution in 1970. "You can see he's trying to sound like Sanford," Vallis remarked. "You know, most people I know want to imitate Elvis, and here Elvis was attempting to imitate him."

The Oklahoma-born singer has also been mentioned as an inspiration by Keith Richards, who recalls Clark's "Son of a Gun" as one of the first songs he performed live in his 2010 biography Life.

"Calling All Hearts," which has appeared in episodes of Nashville and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and "Bad Case of You," which has appeared in two episodes of Transparent, are among his other tunes.

Clark was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where he began performing in the early 1950s. He quit the music business to work in construction after publishing many additional songs in the 1950s and 1960s, but he periodically recorded under his own label Desert Sun Records in later years.

Clark's most well-known song, "The Fool," was included in the Netflix 2017 comedy film 'Win It All,' as well as Craig Borten's 2013 film 'Dallas Buyers Club.' His song "Calling All Hearts" has also been used in a number of TV and film projects.

American rockabilly and country star is survived by his wife and several children.

Cause of death: COVID-19.

 One of the greatest Italian 

 Singer, actress, And TV 

 Host Raffaella Carrà has 

 died At 78 in Rome, Italy. 

(18 June 1943 – 5 July 2021)

Raffaella Carrà, one of the greatest Italian singers, actresses, and television presenters died aged 78 of lung cancer in Rome, Italy. Raffaella Carrà (born Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni) died of lung cancer, an illness from which she suffered over a long period, but details were not publicly revealed until after her death, Sergio Japino, her companion for a very long time, made the announcement by joining the pain of the beloved grandchildren, and lifelong friends and closest collaborators.

Raffaella Carrà (born Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni), twas born in Bologna on 18 June 1943. Carrà got her stage name from the playwright and television director Dante Guardamagna, who linked her name to the painter Raffaello Sanzio and gave the dancer and vocalist the surname of another Futurist genius, Carlo Carrà. Raffaella Carrà was her given name.

Raffaella Carrà made her debut as a recognized actress in 1960 in the Florestano Vancini' film 'Long Night in 1943' and in 1963 'I compagni' directed by famous italian actor and director Marcello Mastroianni.

That same year Carrà worked in the French film 'La chance et l'amour' with French actor Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli. She then appeared in many Italian peplum films, including 1960 'Fury of the Pagans'  also known as 'The Fury of the Barbarians and Toryok', Atlas in the Land of the Cyclops (1961)  starring Gordon Mitchell and Chelo Alonso, Antonio Leonviola's 'Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules' (1961) alongside Mark Forest,  Mario Caiano's film 'Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules' (1962),  Italian drama film 'Pontius Pilate' (1962) directed by Gian Paolo Callegari and  Tanio Boccia's 'Caesar the Conqueror' (1962), as well as comedies and action films such as Mario Mattoli's comedy film '5 marines per 100 ragazze' (1961), 1963 Italian war drama film 'The Terrorist', 1963 Italian-French-Yugoslavian drama film 'The Organizer' (1963), and  Carlo Lizzani's comedy film 'La Celestina P... R...' (1965).

In 1965, Raffaella Carrà moved to Hollywood after signing a contract with 20th Century Fox and following in the footsteps of her fellow artists Gina Lollobrigida, Sofia Loren, and Virna Lisi, Carrà appeared in the 1965 World War II adventure film 'Von Ryan's Express' alongside Frank Sinatra, Edward Mulhare and Trevor Howard.

In 1966, she guest-starred in an episode of the  American secret-agent adventure television series 'I Spy 'with Bill Cosby and Robert Culp. She returned to Italy that same year, feeling homesick and dissatisfied with life in Los Angeles, and acted in many Italian and French films, including Christian-Jaque's 'Le Saint prend l'affût' (1966) alongside Jean Marais, the American spy-fi comedy film that parodies the James Bond film series 'Our Man Flint parody' and  Italian Eurospy comedy 'Il vostro super agente Flit' (1966),  German-Italian comedy film directed by Franz Antel 'Why Did I Ever Say Yes Twice?' (1969), and French thriller film directed by Yves Boisset 'Cran d'arrêt' (1970), as well as a few television shows.

In early 1970, Raffaella Carrá appeared as a guest actress with Nino Ferrer in the program 'Io, Agata e tu,' and won the hearts of the majority of Italians with her sympathy as a modern showgirl. She co-hosted Milleluci with singer Mina Mazzini in 1974. In 1976, the Spanish public television station TVE gave her a program called "La hora de Raffaella Carrá."

In early 1970, she appeared as a guest actress in the program 'Io, Agata e tu' alongside Nino Ferrer, and she won the hearts of the majority of Italians with her sympathy as a modern showgirl. In 1974, she co-hosted Milleluci with singer Mina Mazzini. In 1976, the Spanish national television network TVE offered her a program called 'La hora de Raffaella Carrá.'

In 2008, TVE contacted her for three Eurovision Song Contest-related programs. The first was the Salvemos Eurovisión selection, which was broadcast on March 8th. She also gave two special galas about the festival. Raffaella Carrà was supposed to return after ten years to lead the variety show on Saturday night Rai 1: the program, tentatively titled 'Auditorium,' however the event was canceled.

In early  2014, she returned to The Voice of Italy as a coach alongside Piero Pelù, Noemi, and rapper J-Ax. In the 2014-2015 television season, she returned to Rai 1 with a new talent show called Forte forte forte, which she co-hosted with Joaqun Cortés.

Cause of death: lung cancer.

 Hollywood has lost 

 another star: Actress 

 Suzzanne Douglas has 

 died from cancer at the 

 age of 64. 

(April 12, 1957 - July 6, 2021)

She rose to prominence in the 1990s for her part as Jerri Peterson in the sitcom "The Parent 'Hood," and she has since appeared on other TV shows such as "The Good Wife," "Bones," and "Law & Order," as well as in Hollywood projects such as "Stella's Groove" and "School of Rock."

The 64-year-old was most recently featured in Netflix's "When They See Us" till 2019 and her last role in the Amazon Prime drama "Really Love," which premiered in 2020.

Her friend, novelist Stephanie Perry Moore, confirmed the heartbreaking news on social media with moving final lines: "I was allowed to stand next to real size. Suzzanne Douglas Cobb, my beautiful lady, I adore you. Thank you for for looking after me and demonstrating elegance and grace.

She was most recognized for her role as Jerri Peterson, the matriarch on The WB sitcom The Parent 'Hood, which starred Robert Townsend and aired from 1995 to 1999. Douglas co-starred with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr. in the 1989 dance/drama film Tap, for which she got an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.

Douglas has appeared in several more films, including How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Jason's Lyric (1994), The Inkwell (1994), and the 2003 Disney / ABC remake of Sounder opposite Carl Lumbly.

Douglas is also well recognized for her role as Cissy Houston in the Lifetime TV film Whitney, which aired in 2015. In 2019, she played the mother of one of the main characters in Ava DuVernay's When They See Us (Netflix).

Cause of death: unspecified cancer.

 Robert Downey Sr. actor, 

 director, and father of 

 Robert Downey Jr. and 

 Allyson Downey died aged 

 85 at his home in New York City. 

(June 24, 1936 – July 7, 2021)

Robert Downey Sr., the author of classic anti-establishment films including "Putney Swope" and "Greaser's Palace," who turned 85 last month, died in his sleep at his home in New York City after years of suffering from Parkinson's disease, his wife Rosemary and son actor Downey Jr. announced.

Despite his popularity, he avoided the public eye to protect his family, but when his son was suspected of cocaine usage in 2001, he made a genuine confession. "It is not simple to be a movie star. People will do everything for you and supply you with anything you desire. Hollywood is a real horrible place." Robert Downey Sr admitted in one newspaper interview at the time that he had taken narcotics.

"For the past ten years, I've been taking cocaine." I didn't get hooked until 1981 when my late wife gave me an ultimatum. In front of my kid, I decided to quit taking narcotics. He regularly reminds me of this, and I tell him that he should do the same. In early 2001, Robert Downey Sr. stated, "It's the same."
The New York director, actor, producer, and writer was married to Rosemary Rogers, a well-known writer and the father of actresses Robert Downey Jr. and Allyson Downey.

Downey Jr. featured in two films directed by his father, the first as a kid in "Pound," a 1970s American comedy film in which people played dogs, and the second as an adult in the hilarious comedy "Too Much Sun," which was released in early 1990.

Robert John Downey Sr. was born in Manhattan, New York City, to model Elizabeth Downey and hotel and restaurant manager Robert Elias Sr. His paternal grandparents were Lithuanian Jews, while his mother was of half-Irish, half-Hungarian Jewish heritage.

Downey was born Robert Elias Jr., but when he was too young to serve in the United States Army, he changed his surname to that of his stepfather, James Downey.

In early 1961, he began creating and directing low-budget 16mm films alongside film editor Fred von Bernewitz, beginning with Ball's Bluff (1961), a fantasy short about a Civil War veteran who awakens in Central Park in 1961.

Downey Sr. made his big-budget debut in the surrealist 1972 American Western picture 'Greaser's Palace.' Rittenhouse Square (2005), a documentary about life in a Philadelphia park, was his most recent film.

Cause of death: Parkinson’s disease.

 Adrian Metcalfe, a British 

 Olympic 400m medalist and 

 athletic commentator, died 

 at the age of 79. 

(March 2, 1942 - July 8, 2021)

The 400-meter runner and former UK record holder Adrian Metcalfe, who later went on to have a successful broadcasting career on ITV and Channel 4 in the 1970s and 1980s, died of natural causes at the age of 79, according to his family.

Metcalfe set a world record in the 400m with a time of 45.7 seconds in Dortmund in September 1961. He was a member of the British team that won silver medals in the 4x400m at the European Championships in Belgrade the following year, as well as the English squad that won silver in the 4x440yds relay at the Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia.

When he competed in the 4x400 meters with Tim Graham, John Cooper, and Robbie Brightwell, he won an Olympic medal. The Americans won the race, while the British foursome earned silver in a European record time of 3:01.6. Metcalfe then moved into broadcasting, where he worked as an athletic commentator for ITV. He later became Channel 4's first head of sports, and subsequently launched the Eurosport canal.

Metcalfe served as an athletic commentator for the British commercial channel ITV in the 1970s and 1980s, as the director of sports on Channel 4 when it opened in 1983, and then as the president of the pan-European sports channel Eurosport.

In addition to several responsibilities in the IAAF and IOC, he was given an OBE in 2001 for sports contributions and broadcasting.

He took over as director of worldsport.com in early 1998, working on a web project for the rights of the General Assembly of International Sports Federations (GAISF) with Alan Callan, but the enterprise was doomed and terminated in 2000. Metcalfe's whole financial investment in a firm was lost.

Adrian Metcalfe also provided advice on London's bids for the 2012 World Athletics Championships and the Summer Olympics. After that, he stepped down from public life.

Cause of death: natural causes.

 New Zealand's oldest 

 Olympian, former swimmer 

 Ngaire Lane died aged 95. 

(October 31, 1925 - July 9, 2021)

Ngaire Galloway, born Lane, who has lived in Nelson since the 1950s and was New Zealand's oldest Olympian - as a swimmer who competed in the 1948 London Olympics - died of natural causes at the age of 95, her family announced.

She won the state title of junior in the disciplines fifty-one yard, as well as the discipline fifty meters backstroke in the early 1940s, equaling the record of New Zealand in the younger juniors in the latter category.

She broke the national intermediate 100-yard backstroke record in early 1943, and the following year she broke the national senior 220-yard backstroke mark, making her the first female swimmer to hold junior, intermediate, and senior national records at the same time.

Ngaire won the 100-yard and 220-yard backstroke national championships every year from 1944 to 1949, and she also won the 100-yard medley and 50-yard freestyle titles in 1947.

Ngaire was chosen as the sole swimmer and only woman on New Zealand's Olympic squad in 1948. She was also a member of an Australasian team that finished third in the 4 x 100 m freestyle relay at the CR Gala, which took held after the Olympic swim event.

She returned to NZ in early1949 and continued to dominate backstroke swimming, winning the NZ 100 and 220-yard titles for the 6 years in a row, setting a new record in the latter event. Ngaire married Kenneth Miller Galloway the year after she returned from the Olympics.

Ngaire Lane stopped from competition swimming after her marriage, but she remained engaged in New Zealand swimming through the New Zealand Olympic Committee. She was recognized in Nelson's Legends of Sport in 2011. 

Swimming success is passed down via the family. Gina, Ngaire's granddaughter, earned a bronze medal in the 100 m backstrokes at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games and competed in the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in 2017.

Cause of death: natural causes.

 Esther Bejarano, a Holocaust 

 survivor, and anti-Semitism 

 fighter died at the age of 96. 

(15 December 1924 – 10 July 2021)

Esther Bejarano, a Holocaust survivor and well-known admonisher against anti-Semitism, died at the age of 96, according to her family and the Auschwitz Committee. Her family and friends have been at her side during these difficult times.

Esther Bejarano was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp as a young woman. A spot in the girls' orchestra saved her life. Bejarano was born Esther Loewy on December 15, 1924, in Saarlouis, Germany, as the youngest of five siblings. Her father was a cantor and a Jewish teacher.

Her parents were murdered by the Nazis in Lithuania in 1941, and she was forced to work in a camp before being sent to the Auschwitz extermination camp in early 1943, where she only survived because she played the accordion in the camp's girls' orchestra. She originally traveled to Israel after the war, but in 1960 she moved to Hamburg with her husband.

Despite this harrowing experience of how music might be exploited by the Nazis, Esther Bejarano's love of music persisted throughout her life. She said that the songs and marches she had to perform at Auschwitz had nothing to do with actual music. Mozart and Beethoven had previously performed them to fellow prisoners in the camp, without thinking about the Nazi crimes. For them, this music was a symbol of another life.

For decades, Bejarano battled against right-wing extremism and xenophobia, for which she earned several honors. She has sung Jewish and anti-fascist songs alongside her son Joram and daughter Edna, most recently touring Germany with the Cologne hip-hop band Microphone Mafia.

What a woman! Despite being only five feet tall, she exudes an energy that dwarfs every guy. For example, Esther Bejarano's son Joram accompanied her to all of her concerts. She leaned slightly bent on his forearm on the way, but who dictated the pace was always clear: Esther, of course. She was always clear about what she desired.

When she was over 90, Esther Bejarano was still on stage - and sang! Together with the band Microphone Mafia. The Cologne men rapped, son Joram played the bass, and Esther: Of course, he warbled the chorus.

In an interview last year, Bejarano lamented the fact that the number of Nazis in Germany was on the rise once more. She mentioned the AfD and NPD parties, among others. "They don't want democracy," Bejarano remarked. "I'm not sure what will happen if more individuals adopt such an inhumane mentality. 

Cause of death: natural causes.

 Edwin Edwards, the 

 longest -serving governor 

 in Louisiana history 

 (1972–1980, 1984–1988, 

 1992–1996), has died at 

 the age of 93. 

(August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021)

Former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards (born Edwin Washington Edwards) died peacefully at his home in Gonzales, La., surrounded by family and friends. Doctors reported that Louisiana's only four-term governor (1972–1980, 1984–1988, 1992–1996) died of respiratory issues that had troubled him in recent years.

Edwards was only a month away from turning 94.

The former governor had entered hospice care after being taken by ambulance the day before to neighboring Our Lady of the Lake St. Elizabeth Hospital with symptoms of pain in his right lung. X-rays and a CAT scan of both lungs were performed by doctors, but the results revealed nothing.

Edwards, a Democrat, controlled state politics for over 25 years and even had a brief and dramatic moment in the national limelight during the 1991 governor's election when he faced former KKK grand wizard and antisemitic conspiracy theorist David Duke, a Republican. Edwards received the most votes in a Louisiana gubernatorial race, 1,057,031.

Edwards, a Democrat, served seven years in Congress and then two terms as governor of Louisiana in the 1970s, during which time he supervised the passage of a new state constitution, appointed a record number of Black individuals to significant posts and fought for an oil tax that boosted state revenue. He was well-liked, with a sharp wit and a colorful lifestyle.

During his first two terms in office, the governor was involved in many ethics problems, albeit they were minor in comparison to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s.

Edwards was surprisingly open about his dubious tactics at the time. Clyde Vidrine, a disgruntled former Edwards bodyguard, made many high-profile charges of corruption during the governor's first term, including the selling of state agency jobs.

Edwards and his wife Elaine received dubious presents in 1971 while Edwards was a U.S. congressman, according to a 1976 incident known as Koreagate. Tongsun Park, a South Korean rice broker, was investigated for attempting to bribe American politicians on behalf of the South Korean government and earning millions of dollars in commissions on American sales of South Korean rice.

Despite being constitutionally banned from serving a third consecutive term, he won the governorship in 1983 and was re-elected in 1991 after coming up short in 1987. In his fourth term, he was convicted on federal corruption charges stemming from the licensing of riverboat casinos after stepping down from politics. He was always adamant that he had done nothing wrong.

In 2011, he was released from prison with his sharp wit intact. He married Trina Grimes (32 years old), a jail pen friend, for the third time. 

Edwards ran in the 2014 election for a seat in the United States House of Representatives representing Louisiana's 6th congressional district. Edwards won the jungle primary but was defeated in the runoff election by Republican Garret Graves by nearly 25 points.

Cause of death: respiratory problems.

 Margaret Richardson, the 

 IRS commissioner during 

 Clinton's first term, died at 

 the age of 78 from 

 lung cancer. 

(May 14, 1943 - July 13, 2021)

Mary Margaret “Peggy” Richardson, a U.S. lawyer and public servant, and former IRS commissioner (1993-1997) died of lung cancer at her home in Delaplane, Virginia, her family announced.

From 1993 until 1997, Richardson served as the Internal Revenue Commissioner in the Tax Administration (IRS). She was only the second woman in that post, following her immediate predecessor.

Richardson was born in Waco, Texas, but grew up in both Waco and West Point, New York. Margaret Richardson earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Vassar College in 1965. She subsequently went on to the George Washington University Law School, where she was one of the editors of The George Washington Law Review and graduated with a Juris Doctorate in 1968. She went on to work as a clerk for the United States Court of Claims.

For the first eight years of his career, Richardson worked in the IRS's Office of Chief Counsel. She ultimately climbed to the post of director of the administrative services division, becoming the office's first female executive.

While both were members of the American Bar Association, Richardson became acquainted with Hillary Clinton. During her husband's 1992 presidential campaign, she helped collect funds for him. When Bill Clinton became President in 1993, he named Richardson to the position of Commissioner of Internal Revenue. She was the second woman to hold the position, following her immediate predecessor, Shirley D. Peterson.

Richardson joined Ernst & Young in Washington, D.C. after her tenure as IRS Commissioner ended in 1997. from later that year till June 2003 Following that, she sat on the boards of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, Inc., Legg Mason, and WETA. Richardson was a member of the D.C. and Virginia bars, as well as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Cause of death: complications from lung cancer.

 Cinderella guitarist 

 Jeff LaBar (58) was found 

 dead at his Nashville residence. 

(March 18, 1963 - July 14, 2021)

Jeff LaBar, guitarist of the American glam metal band Cinderella, has died at the age of 58. Sebastian LaBar, LaBar's son, announced his father's death by posting it on social media. LaBar’s body was discovered at his Nashville residence. The cause of death has not yet been announced.

Cinderella was founded in Philadelphia in 1983, and LaBar joined the lineup two years later, following the departure of Michael Schermick. LaBar replaced guitarist Michael Kelly Smith (née Michael Schermick), who left the band to create Britny Fox.

After signing with Mercury Records, LaBar, along with founding members Tom Keifer and Eric Brittingham, released Cinderella’s debut studio album, Night Songs, in 1986.

Cinderella was a guest with Bon Jovi, Poison, and other heavyweights on the “hair metal” scene during their heyday, and the band charted eight songs on the Billboard Hot Table in the late 1980s and early 1990s, starting in 1986. “Nobody’s Fool” . years. "which reached range on MTV and individually reached the thirteenth place in the rankings. The powerful ballad" I Don't Know What You Have, "which came in twelfth place in 1988, was their biggest.

Cinderella affected the Billboard 200 list with all four records, including the debut Night Songs at No. 3 in 1987 and the Long Cold Winter at No. 10 in 1988. After the release of the studio album Still Climbing in 1994, the band came to a halt. Despite the fact that Cinderella reunited in a few live bands in 2010, Still Climbing would be the band's most recent release.

Despite the fact that Cinderella hasn't issued a studio album since Still Climbing, the band resurfaced in 2010 for a series of live shows, celebrated the tour's 25th anniversary the following year, and played on the Monsters of Rock Cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2013.

More recordings were halted due to Kiefer's vocal problems, and in 2017, the singer dashed expectations for a comeback, alleging irreconcilable disagreements with the rest of the band. LaBar made a living running a pizzeria with his brother and performing other construction tasks during Cinderella's hiatus in the mid-1990s.

LaBar has worked on a few side projects, including Naked Beggars and Cheap Excitement, as well as his own debut solo EP, One for the Road, which he released in 2014. It would also fall to 130th position on the Billboard 200. Except for the drums, LaBar composed all of the tracks and performed all of the instruments.

Cause of death: unknown.

 Dennis Murphy, one of 

 the co-founders of the 

 American Basketball 

 Association (ABA) and 

 the World Hockey 

 Association (WHA), died in 

 Placentia, California, at the 

 age of 94. 

(September 4, 1926 - July 15, 2021)

Dennis Murphy, a sports entrepreneur who co-founded the American Basketball Federation and the World Hockey Association who is meant to be a member of three Halls of Fame (basketball, hockey, and tennis), died of congestive heart failure at an assisted living facility in Placentia, California, according to his family.

Dennis Murphy was born September 4, 1926, in Shanghai, China, before moving to the U.S. in 1941. He was a real sports enthusiast who played varsity baseball at University High School in L.A. He served in the military as a staff sergeant in World War II and came out of the Korean War as a captain. 

But it was Dennis's creative sporting concepts for which he was most known. He co-founded the American Basketball Association with Gary Davidson in the 1960s and the World Hockey Association with him in the 1970s. Dennis then went on to co-found World Team Tennis and, later, Roller Hockey International with Larry King and Alex Bellehumeur in the 1990s.

Each of the leagues employed ground-breaking marketing and promotional strategies, as well as new regulations and a style of play, to compel established leagues to evolve. Murphy had been working on two other professional sports leagues, the World Hockey Association and World Team Tennis, when the ABA collapsed following its 1976 season.

The World Hockey Association (WHA) was the National Hockey League's first significant opponent since the Western Hockey League in 1926, and it operated from early 1972 to 1979.

But he wasn't simply a sports league pioneer; he was a marketing and promotional visionary who invented the 3-point shot, the slam-dunk contest, team cheerleaders, and the red, white, and blue basketball. The league also gave birth to players like Julius Winfield Erving II Julius - (“Dr. J”) Irving, George Gervin nicknamed "the Iceman", R. Barry, and many more.

Murphy also pioneered the league's red-white-and-blue basketball, a slam-dunk event, and team cheerleaders.

The World Hockey Association also signed European players, ushering in a new age of North American hockey. Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, both Hall of Famers, began their careers in the WHA. Murphy held the position of commissioner for three years.

Murphy's last professional league was Roller Hockey International, which he played in from 1992 until 1999. He was inspired by witnessing children playing roller hockey on the pavement rather than ice. King worked on the league with Murphy and Alex Bellehumeur. 

Cause of death: heart failure.

 Biz Markie, a hip-hop 

 pioneer ("Just a Friend") 

 and actor (Men in Black II), 

 died of diabetes at the age 

 of 57 in Baltimore. 

(April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021)

Another American hip-hop legend has passed away. Biz Markie (born Marcel Theo Hall) died at the age of 57. He is the latest in a long line of rappers who shaped the genre but died young. Biz Markie, the American rapper who had his biggest hit with "Just A Friend" in 1989, has died.

His manager Jenni Izumi confirmed to CNN and other US media that the musician died on Friday evening in Baltimore at the age of 57 in the presence of his wife Tara. Because of his humorous lyrics, Markie was dubbed "The Diabolical" and the "Clown Prince of Hip Hop."

He was born Marcel Theo Hall in the Harlem neighborhood of New York in 1964 and grew up on Long Island, just outside the city. He started as a beatboxer and was a founding member of the genre-defining Juice Crew. He also made a guest appearance in the German group Fünf Sterne Deluxe's song "Will Smith, Meer Gayne" in 1998. In the year 2020, he was admitted to the hospital due to a serious diabetes illness.

His 1989 single "Just a Friend" was a Top 40 smash in several countries. "Just a Friend" was ranked No. 100 on VH1's list of the 100 best hip hop songs of all time in 2008. Markie featured in Men in Black II in 2002, with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, as an extraterrestrial parody of himself whose native tongue sounded just like beatboxing.

In early 2002 and early 2003, he starred as himself as a nightclub DJ in episode 5 of the TV series Fastlane. In 2003, he participated in the worldwide television series Kung Faux as a succession of voice-over characters in various episodes.

Biz Markie is the latest in a long line of rap artists to pass away in recent months. Earl Simmons, better known as DMX, was a superstar in the industry at the turn of the millennium, with songs like "Ruff Ryder's Anthem" and "X Gon'Give It To Ya." His death on April 9 at the age of 50, following a heart attack and days of artificial respiration, caused widespread consternation.

Black Rob ("Whoa"), the rapper who rose to fame alongside P. Diddy, died on April 17th at the age of 51. Gift of Gab, a co-founder of the duo Blackalicious and born in 1971, died on June 18th of kidney problems.

However, in recent years, violent deaths of genre stars have repeatedly made headlines: King Von (hit album: "Welcome to O'Block"), who died in a shooting in Atlanta in November 2020, was only 26 years old. Nipsey Hussle, 33, was shot and killed outside his Los Angeles clothing store in March 2019.

These shooting dramas reminded me of the 1990s, when the assassinations of Tupac Shakur, 25, and Notorious B.I.G., 24, kept the music world on edge. On the death of Biz Markie, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote on Twitter, "We mourn a true son of Harlem tonight." He turned hip-hop on its head with a New York sense of humor.

Cause of death: complications from diabetes.

 Tom O'Connor, a Merseyside 

 -born comedian and game 

 show host best known for 

 Crosswits, Name That Tune, 

 and The Zodiac Game, died 

 at the age of 81. 

(31 October 1939 – 18 July 2021)

According to his daughter-in-law, former Olympic athlete Denise Lewis, O'Connor fought Parkinson's disease for 14 years, and his family expressed appreciation to "everyone who has cared for Tom through his Parkinson's diagnosis and treatment, and of course his final days in the hospital." He died in Wexham Park Hospital in Berkshire, England.

Thomas Patrick O'Connor was born in Bootle and was always considered a proud Liverpool native. The city council expressed its condolences on Twitter, writing, "Sad news breaking regarding the passing of veteran Liverpool comic Tom O'Connor." Our hearts go out to his family and friends. Thank you, Tom, for the laughs.”

O'Connor taught math and music before going into show business, and once stated that the only way he could get through to his students was by cracking jokes: "It was fantastic..." That was the start of the farce".

He taught during the day and did stand-up comedy in clubs at night, and he got his big break on the talent program Opportunity Knocks, which he won three weeks in a row. The Comedians, a 1970s ITV show that produced stars of performers like Frank Carson, Stan Boardman, and Jim Bowen, followed soon after.

O'Connor had a pleasant, unoffensive sense of comedy and a sympathetic stage presence. His easygoing demeanor made him an ideal quizshow presenter, beginning with the very popular Name That Tune, in which participants could win £1,200 cash, a vehicle, or even "a magnificent four-band radio featuring double cassette stereo tape recorder to offer you hours of more music enjoyment."

Later, until 1998, O'Connor aired ITV Tyne Tees' homely crossword-themed Crosswits, which he hosted for a decade. “And remember, if there's ever a crossword in your family, make sure it's written and not uttered, just for me, okay,” he'd urge audiences.

Dan Walker, the BBC Breakfast anchor, confessed he was a Crosswits fan, tweeting: "How sad. I had the pleasure of meeting Tom O'Connor, who was gracious, humorous, and a real gentleman. I like seeing him on television — Crosswits was fantastic. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends.” I've Got a Secret, The Zodiac Show, Gambit, and the snooker-based Pick Pockets were among the other shows.

In the early 2000s, O'Connor tried his hand at straight acting, playing Father Tom, a Catholic priest, in the BBC daytime serial Doctors. He was no stranger to the stage, having appeared several times at the Royal Performances at The London Palladium. 

Tom O'Connor appeared on the celebrity edition of Come Dine With Me in 2010 (the Celebrity Christmas ), and he joined Lewis in 2011 on the quiz show Pointless Celebrities.

O'Connor won the celebrity edition of Come Dine With Me in early 2010 and appeared on the Pointless Celebrities quiz show the following year with his daughter-in-law, Olympic gold medalist Denise Lewis.

He became a regular on Countdown's dictionary corner and occasionally worked as an actor, as a Catholic priest, Father Tom, in the daytime serial Doctors. He won Celebrity Come Dine With Me and Pointless Celebrities with Lewis in recent years. 

Cause of death: complications from Parkinson's disease.

 Australian actress Mary 

 Ward, also known as Mary 

 Ward Breheny, died in 

 Melbourne at the age of 106. 

(March 6, 1915 - July 19, 2021)

Mary Ward, a veteran Australian actress and radio broadcaster best remembered for her role as 'Mom' in the Australian criminal thriller Prisoner, died 'peacefully' at the BlueCross Senior Care Facility in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, aged 106 her family confirmed.

Mary has featured in several well-known Australian television programs, including A Country Practice, The Henderson Kids, Neighbours, and Blue Heelers.

After being a kid during the Spanish Flu, which lasted from 1918 to 1920, Mary has lived through two World Wars and now two worldwide pandemics. As a youngster, Mary Ward attended boarding school and met a young Lang Hancock, who went on to become one of Australia's most prominent iron ore magnates. Ward had his training in England and Australia, and he performed on the stage circuit in England before making his film debut.

Mary arrived in London in her early twenties after studying acting in Perth and got a job teaching elocution. Mary returned to Australia at the start of WWII and became ABC's first female announcer. During this period, she was dubbed "Forces Sweetheart" because she read letters and played music requests for soldiers stationed in the Pacific.

Mary Ward began working full-time on television in the mid-1970s, appearing in Rush (1974-1976), the police procedural drama 'Homicide,' and as Aunt Marian Castle in Don Chaffey's Harness Fever with Andrew McFarlane and T. Farley in early 1977. In 1979, Harness Fever was adapted into a two-part episode, Born to Ride, for the main anthology television series Wonderful World of Disney.

Ward resumed her theatrical work in the 1970s with the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC), where she performed in a David Williamson stage play until 1983. Guest appearances include The Young Doctors and A Country Practice on the Nine Network.

Ward also appeared on Neighbours and Blue Heelers in minor roles. Her acting career extended six decades before she retired in 2000. Ward, who lived in Melbourne, reached 105 in 2020, making her the oldest living actress in Australia at the time.

Cause of death: natural causes.

 Layne Flack (52), a 6-time 

 World Series of Poker 

 bracelet winner, was found 

 dead at his Las Vegas home. 

(May 18, 1969 – July 19, 2021)

Layne Flack, 52, was discovered dead at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Monday night. He was a six-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner and one of the early faces of the 2000s poker boom. At this moment, the cause of death remains unknown.

Flack, who was born on May 18, 1969, grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota before working as a poker dealer at modest card clubs in Montana. He eventually made his way to Nevada, where Flack learned under poker legends like Johnny Chan and Ted Forrest.

Layne and his fiancée moved to Reno, Nevada when he was 24, and Layne was a full-time professional poker player by 1995 when his daughter Hailey was born. Flack began playing cards with his grandparents when he was a child, but he got obsessed with the game while working at a casino.

Flack rose to prominence in the late 1990s and became a household name during the early 2000s poker boom, where he was widely considered as one of the finest players of his generation.

Before moving to Las Vegas to play professionally, the South Dakota native worked at tiny card clubs in Montana.

Flack won his first gold bracelet at the WSOP $3,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em tournament in May 1999, winning $224,400. He won the Legends of Poker $330 7-Card Stud event for $15,600 in August of that year, and the $330 Limit Hold'em Shootout for $19,320 the next day.

Back-to-back triumphs gave him the moniker "Back-to-Back" Flack, which he would strengthen by winning two gold bracelets in 2002 and 2003.

Other notable achievements on his poker resume include a $500,000 second-place finish to Eric Brenes in the 2004 WPT Aruba, a $225,190 fourth-place finish in the 2016 WinStar River Poker Series Main Event, and a $186,900 second-place finish to Howard Lederer in the 2002 WPT World Poker Finals.

Flack's most recent tournament cash was recorded last summer when he finished in the money nine times during the 2020 WSOP Online bracelet tournaments. According to the Hendon Mob Poker Database, Layne Flack has earned more than $5 million in tournament profits in his career.

Flack, who was a popular figure both on and off the felt, rose to popularity during the poker boom when players became television stars as cameras rolled at poker events all over the world. He was well-known for his easygoing demeanor, wonderful sense of humor, and optimistic view of life.

Many of the poker world's most famous figures rushed to social media Monday afternoon to share memories of their time on the felt with Layne and to pay tribute to his life. Hailey Flack, Flack's 26-year-old daughter, survives him.

Cause of death: unknown.

 Françoise Arnoul, a famous 

 French actress from the 

 1950s, died in Paris at the 

 age of 90. 

(3 June 1931 – 20 July 2021)

Françoise Arnoul, a 1950s movie star and the star of Jean Renoir's famous "French Cancan," died aged 90 after a long illness in a Paris hospital., according to her family. 

Françoise Arnoul, born in Algeria in 1931, landed her first role in Willy Rozier's "L'Epave." She became known as a "sex symbol" after appearing in films such as "The Companions of the Night," "Body Rage," "Secrets of Alcove," and "The Forbidden Fruit." The true glory will be known to her thanks to the 1954 film "French Cancan," in which she plays Nini.

She is frequently confined to the roles of a lost girl, sometimes in perverse ways (The Forbidden Fruit by Henri Verneuil in 1952, La Rage au corps and Les Compagnes de la nuit by Ralph Habib in 1953). In 1955, she finds a role that suits her perfectly in French Cancan by Jean Renoir (who becomes one of her closest friends), in which Jean Gabin transforms the little laundress into the cancan's star.

Gabin was also discovered by Françoise Arnoul in People Without Importance by Henri Verneuil the same year. In the years thereafter, we've seen her as a Venetian lover with Roger Vadim (Do we ever know? In 1957), or as a seductive Cat in Henri Decoin's eponymous film (1958) and its sequel The Cat pulls out its claws (1959). 

She also works with Julien Duvivier (The Devil and the Ten Commandments, 1962) and Michel Deville (Lucky Jo in 1964). 

Françoise Arnoul became much rarer in the cinema after launching into unionism with her second husband (she had been briefly married to Georges Cravenne), the filmmaker Bernard Paul, and taking up the cause of abortion by signing the manifesto of 343, a public call for civic disobedience four years before the Veil law, signed by women who claimed to have resorted to this practice.

She continues to work with filmmakers such as Jean-Claude Missiaen (Night Watch in 1984), Jean Marboeuf (See the Elephant in 1990, Temps de chien in 1996), and Brigitte Roüan (Post coitum, sad animal in 1997). The actress presided over the Camera d'Or jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997.

Since 1998, she has made sporadic appearances in television films such as L'Alambic (again directed by Jean Marboeuf), Duval: Un Mort de trop in 2001, and Le Voyageur de la Toussaint in 2007.

Between 1997 and 2015, Françoise Arnoul appeared in only three films on the big screen: Thank you for the gesture of Claude Faraldo in 2000, the drama Beau rivage by Julien Donada in 2011, in which she plays one of the key parts with Daniel Duval and Chiara Caselli, and Le Cancre by Paul Vecchiali, which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival.

Her most recent film performance was in "Le Cancre" by Paul Vecchiali in 2016, when she played Mimi.

Cause of death: unknown.

 Longtime NFL assistant 

 coach Greg Knapp (58) 

 Nicknamed "Knapper," has 

 died following a bicycle crash. 

(March 5, 1963 – July 22, 2021) 

The Knapp family confirmed the death of New York Jets assistant coach Gregory Fishbeck Knapp, nicknamed "Knapper," five days after he was involved in a bicycle accident. He was 58 years old. According to the San Ramon Police Department, Knapp collided with a single driver on Saturday in San Ramon, California.

Following a preliminary investigation, officials stated that they do not believe drugs or alcohol played a role in the event. The driver of the car, according to police, cooperated with the inquiry.

Knapp coached in the NFL for almost 25 years, beginning with the San Francisco 49ers as the team's offensive quality control coach in 1995. He stayed in San Francisco until 2003, where he was the quarterback's coach for three seasons before being promoted to offensive coordinator from 2001 to 2003.

In 2004, Knapp came to Atlanta for the first of two stints with the Falcons (2004-06, 2018-2020). He's played for the Oakland Raiders (2007-08, 2012), Seattle Seahawks (2009), Houston Texans - The 'Hawks (2010-11), and Denver Broncos 'Orange Crush ' in the past (2013-16).

From 2018 through 2020, Knapp led Matt Ryan to a league-high 13,971 throwing yards during his second tenure in Atlanta. In 2013, while with the Broncos, the coach worked with future Hall of Famers Steve Young and Peyton Manning, assisting the latter in setting single-season NFL records for passing yards (5,477) and passing touchdowns (55) in 2013.

Two seasons later, Knapp and Manning won a Super Bowl ring. During his tenure, Knapp guided 11 quarterbacks to the Pro Bowl: Young (1995-98), Jeff Garcia (2000-02), Michael Vick (2004 and 2005), and Peyton Manning (2013 and 2014).

Vick became the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season while under Knapp's tutelage (2006). Under head coach Robert Saleh and No. 2 overall selection Zach Wilson, Knapp was slated to teach his first season with the New York Jets as their quarterback's coach in 2021.

Cause of death: injuries from a traffic collision.

John Cornell, an Australian 

 film producer (Crocodile 

 Dundee) and comedian, 

 died at the age of 80 after 

 a long battle with Parkinson's 

 disease. 

(2 March 1941 – 23 July 2021)

After a lengthy fight with Parkinson's disease, Australian film producer, writer (1986 action comedy Crocodile Dundee), and actor (The Paul Hogan Show) died at the age of 80. His family confirmed his death at his Byron Bay residence on the NSW North Coast.

Cornell, who was born in Kalgoorlie in 1941, moved swiftly up the ranks of the Perth Daily News, eventually becoming London editor at the age of 26. Throughout his career, he worked as a journalist, a nightclub owner, a milkman, and a bookmaker, yet everything he touched seemed to turn to gold.

Cornell went on to become the first producer of "A Current Affair," a show on current events. While working on this show, he met Australian actor Paul Hogan, with whom he established a successful comedic team, with Cornell playing the much-loved character "Strop."

He went on to co-write and produce The Paul Hogan Show before launching the immensely successful "Crocodile Dundee" film franchise, which is now the most lucrative Australian film of all time. Dundee triumphantly took $US330 million around the world. Tony Scott's action movie 'Top Gun' was the only one that sold more tickets that year.

Following his success as a writer and producer, Cornell switched to directing for the 1988 sequel, Crocodile Dundee II. It was also a worldwide success, grossing more than $25 million in Australia. He also collaborated with Kerry Packer to create World Series Cricket, which transformed the game.

Cornell and Paul Hogan were investigated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for potential tax fraud as part of Project Wickenby, which began in 2004. The Australian Crime Commission also examined them "for the use of offshore accounts to bank earnings from the Crocodile Dundee flicks" (with both denying any dishonest conduct).

The Australian Crime Commission later exonerated them of any wrongdoing (ACC). Hogan and Cornell announced in 2012 that they had resolved their eight-year battle with the Australian Taxation Office. John Cornell was surrounded by his family, including his wife and actress, television presenter and singer Delvene Delaney, and eldest daughter.

Cause of death: complications from Parkinson's disease.

 Jackie Mason, the 

 legendary comedian and 

 Broadway star (The Simpsons,

 The Jerk, Caddyshack II), 

 died at the age of 93. 

(June 9, 1928 – July 24, 2021)

Jackie Mason (born Yacov Moshe Hakohen Maza), legendary comedian and actor (The Simpsons, The Jerk, Caddyshack II), and two-time Emmy winner, died at the age of 93 in a New York hospital, his long-time friend  lawyer and matrimonial attorney Raoul Felder announced. Mason died peacefully, surrounded by close friends and family. He'd been in the hospital for two weeks due to breathing problems.

Mason was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, but grew up in New York, where he worked as an amateur boxer and an ordained rabbi before deciding to pursue a career in comedy. He was ordained after college and began leading congregations in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, where his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather were all rabbis.

Before going into show business in the 1950s, the comedian was ordained as a rabbi. He was well-known for his social criticism, appearances on talk shows, and Broadway one-man plays. Mason has received several honors during his career, including a Tony Award and an Emmy for his work on The Simpsons, where he voiced Krusty the Clown's father.

Mason was a stand-up comedian who specialized in the "Borscht Belt" style, which drew extensively on Jewish culture and idioms. . Mason's humor was centered on puns, innuendo, and occasionally politically incorrect humor, and he was known for his thick New York Jewish accent.

Mason got his start in show business as a social director at a Catskills resort. Jackie Mason was the one who persuaded everyone to get up and play activities like Simon Says, shuffleboard, or quizzes. He was also a jokester. After a season, he was performing for greater money at clubs all across the Catskills.

Mason's wit may range from computers and fancy coffee to former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and Donald Trump. He was able to express the common man's fury, making life's indignities appear amusing and, perhaps, just a little bit more bearable.

Mason rose to fame and infamy after being signaled off-camera by Sullivan to speed up his routine as the show was about to be preempted by a live speech from then-President Lyndon B. Johnson during an October 1964 episode. Mason was in the midst of a multi-episode contract that paid him $7,500 per monologue. Mason, for his part, brought up the signals during his speech.

Mason made a career out of political incorrectness, gaining a position on Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time for his Jewish-themed humor, social criticism, and pseudo-angry demeanor.

Cause of death: unknown.

 Bob Moses, an American 

 civil rights activist best 

 known for his longtime 

 leadership of the Student 

 Nonviolent Coordinating 

 Committee, died at the 

 age of 86. 

(January 31, 1935 – July 25, 2021)

According to a statement from NAACP President Derrick Johnson and a statement from the organization's Legal Defense Fund, civil rights legend (SNCC) and co-founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Bob Moses died at the age of 86. Moses's cause of death was unknown.

During the civil rights struggle, Moses, also known as Bob, campaigned to abolish segregation as the Mississippi field director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and was essential to the 1964 "Freedom Summer," in which hundreds of students traveled to the South to register voters.

According to his biography on Stanford University's King Encyclopedia of civil rights luminaries, he was born in New York City in January 1935 and grew up in Harlem. In 1957, he graduated from Harvard University with a master's degree in philosophy. He became a Rhodes Scholar while attending Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and was profoundly affected by the work of French philosopher Albert Camus and his views of rationality and moral purity for social transformation.

In the late 1950s, he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and traveled with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to assist in the civil rights struggle. ' Bob' was the driving force behind the 1964 voter registration drive, as well as the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project and several other civil rights initiatives.

When three civil rights activists were killed by a gang of men led by a Mississippi deputy sheriff, he was a leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Mississippi. He also had a role in an ill-fated attempt to seat African-American delegates from Mississippi at the segregated DN Convention in early 1964. During the 1960s, he led Black voter registration efforts in the American South, where he was beaten and imprisoned, and subsequently helped enhance minority education.

Later, he assisted in the formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which aimed to challenge Mississippi's all-white Democratic delegation in 1964. However, President Lyndon B. Johnson blocked the group of dissident Democrats from participating in the convention, instead of allowing Jim Crow southerners to remain, causing national outrage.

Moses became so disillusioned by his experiences that he relocated to Tanzania to teach mathematics. In 1976, he returned to the United States and was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellow in 1982. He utilized his fellowship to create the Algebra Project, a national initiative that teaches African-American adolescents mathematical literacy before encouraging them to attend college.

Moses was named one of the 12 inaugural Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Fellows by the Fletcher Foundation in early 2005. The Fletcher Foundation provides large funding to researchers and activists working on civil rights problems.

Cause of death: unknown.

 American film and TV 

 actor Rick Aiello, son of 

 Danny Aiello, died aged 65 

 after a long battle with 

 pancreatic cancer. 

(September 21, 1955 – July 26, 2021)

According to a press statement from Tracey Miller & Associates, actor Rick Aiello, son of late actor Danny Aiello, died Monday at St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick, New York, following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.
 
Rick began his acting career in the 1980s, following in his father's footsteps. Rick collaborated with Spike Lee twice, the first time in Do the Right Thing, in which he played Officer Long. Later, in Lee's 1991 film Jungle Fever, he repeated the role. Rick is also well-known for his role as Ray-Ray D'Abaldo in The Sopranos.

Rick and his father Danny costarred in Do the Right Thing, as well as in the TV series Dellaventura and subsequently in the 1998 film A Brooklyn State of Mind. Rick has also collaborated with his father on films such as 29th Street, Brooklyn Lobster, Reach Me, and Harlem Nights.

Danny, well known for his appearances in Moonstruck and The Godfather: Part II, died in 2019 from an infection contracted while receiving treatment for a severe illness. The Oscar-nominated actor died at the age of 86. Rick is survived by his wife, two children, Ricky Jr. and Tori, as well as his brother Jamie, sister Stacey, and mother Sandy. Danny Aiello III, Aiello's older brother, also died of pancreatic cancer eleven years ago.

Cause of death: pancreatic cancer.

 Dusty Hill, the legendary 

 ZZ Top bassist and vocalist, 

 died at the age of 72. 

(May 19, 1949 – July 27, 2021)

Dusty Hill, the legendary ZZ Top bassist, died at the age of 73. Fans of the long-running boogie rock band were saddened to learn of his death, which was announced by his bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard in a commemorative press release.

The cause of Dusty Hill's death has not been revealed, but it could be related to the fact that he was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2000, which caused him to retire from the tour and miss two years of the band's and tour's existence.

Dusty Hill was born in Dallas in 1949 and, like the rest of the band, has never lived outside of Texas. He was a member of several Dallas bands as a teenager, including Warlocks, The Cellar Dwellers, and American Blues, alongside his brother Rocky Hill and future ZZ Top colleague Frank Beard.

The turning point came in 1968 when Dusty's brother Ricky insisted on the band becoming more blues-oriented, while Dusty and Beard desired a more aggressive sound. They relocated to Houston and met Billy Gibbons of the psychedelic band Moving Sidewalks there.

He had already founded ZZ Top and released his first single, but fate wanted Beard to replace the original drummer first, and Dusty to replace the original bassist later, when they already had a record deal. The beginnings were humble. With the release of the second album ("Rio Grande Mud" -1972), came the first single to reach the top of the charts, "Francine.", but ZZ Top was still just a local attraction. 

Everything changed with their third album, "Tres Hombres," released in 1973, on which they recorded their first big hit "La Grange," which resonated - along with a new solid boogie / hard rock sound - far beyond the borders of Texas. After that, ZZ Top designed its own outfit, creating a distinct visual concept. Hill and Gibbons grew out their beards, which were rarely seen without sunglasses and hats/caps of various styles.

ZZ Top capitalized on MTV's distinct visual identity at a time of global breakthrough, filming lavish music videos that frequently featured customized cars and alluring beauties, becoming a global phenomenon of the 1980s alongside MTV. ZZ Top is one of the most successful hard rock bands in general, having released 15 albums and sold over 50 million records.

Cause of death: unknown.

 Ron Popeil, pioneering TV 

 pitchman, inventor, and 

 founder of company Ronco, 

 died suddenly at the age of 86. 

(May 3, 1935 – July 28, 2021)

Ronald Martin Popeil, the king of infomercials and inventor, died suddenly at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he had been admitted a day earlier for a medical emergency, according to Popeil representative Eric Ortner. The cause of death has not yet been determined. Ron Popeil founded the direct response marketing firm, Ronco.

According to his official biography, Popeil began his sales career at the age of 16 in Chicago-area flea markets. Popeil made his first television appearance in the late 1950s, promoting the Ronco Chop-o-Matic food dicer. "I'm going to show you the greatest kitchen appliance ever made," Popeil said, introducing his earnestly dramatic style.

Although Popeil's firm, Ronco, was already well-known in the 1970s, his celebrity skyrocketed in the 1980s, when new federal advertising laws permitted him to transition from short commercials to 30-minute self-contained "infomercials," which quickly dominated late-night and weekend programming. He then proceeded to develop a slew of additional made-for-TV creations that were both numerous and diverse.

He was on the board of directors of Mirage Resorts for almost two decades under Steve Wynn's charismatic leadership, as well as the board of directors of MGM Hotels for seven years under Kerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian's leadership.

Popeil became a frequent target of satire, which he gleefully accepted. The most famous parody, according to his bio, was Saturday Night Live's "Bass-O-Matic '76" commercial, in which Dan Aykroyd chopped up a whole raw fish in a blender.

Popeil sold Ronco in 2005 but remained closely linked with its goods. Later innovations were promoted by Ron's Enterprises, Inc., a new firm he founded. In early 2001, Popeil, the proud member of the Direct Response Hall of Fame received the Electronic Retail Association's (ERA) Lifetime Achievement Global Award.

Cause of death: unknown.

 General Hospital Actor 

 Jay Pickett has died at 

 the age of 60 while filming 

 a new movie in Idaho. 

(February 10, 1961 – July 30, 2021) 

The co-producer Jim Heffel announced on social media that the soap star, writer, director, and producer Jay Pickett best known for his roles in Days of our Lives and General Hospital died while sitting on a horse and shooting for a scene on the sets of his new film in Idaho.

Jay Pickett opted to take a trip into the heavens. In the movie Treasure Valley, he died while sitting on a horse, ready to rope a steer. Pickett, who also served as director and co-producer, wrote and directed the movie. The cause of Jay's death is unknown at this time.

Pickett, who was born in Spokane, Washington on February 10, 1961, graduated from Boise State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Later, he received a master's degree in fine arts from UCLA. He was a skilled roper and western horseback rider.

Pickett made his daytime serial debut as Dr. Chip Lakin on "Days of our Lives" from 1991 to 1992, in addition to his role as Frank Scanlon on "Port Charles" from 1997 to 2003.

Pickett later appeared as Lorenzo Alcazar on “General Hospital” in 2006 as a temporary recast. He returned to the soap in 2007-2008, this time as Detective David Harper.

Jay's acting career took off in the late 1980s, and he appeared in several primetime TV programs, including "The Mentalist," "NCIS: Los Angeles," and "Queen Sugar," to name a few. He appeared in numerous western films, including "Heart of the Gun," "Catch the Bullet," and "Soda Springs."

Pickett is survived by his wife Elena Pickett, 2 daughters, Maegan and Michaela, and a son, Tyler. He had completed his studies at Boise State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Later, he earned his Master's degree in Fine Arts from UCLA. Jay had previously appeared in programs such as Abandoned and Soda Springs, in addition to General Hospital spinoff Port Charles. After marrying Elena Marie Bates in 1985, the actor kept his personal life private. But, sadly, Jay Pickett died, leaving a world in grief at the loss of a singing talent like him.

An image of him on his horse, with that trademark dimpled grin that fans adored, riding into the sunset seems fitting. He left a legacy of hard work, friendship, and a network of family and friends behind him.

Cause of death: unknown.