Deaths in December - 2013

Judy Rodgers died December 2, 2013. She was a chef and one of the creators of California Cuisine. Judy Rodgers wrote Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

Former South African president and global statesman Nelson Mandela died December 5 at age 95. His autobiography is called Long Walk to Freedom

Texas historian T. R. Fehrenbach died December 1 at age 88. Among his many books are Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans and Comanches: The History of a People

Founder of the non-profit New Press Andre Schiffrin died December 1 at age 78. He wrote The Business of Books: How the International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read and Words & Money among others.

Poet Ruth F. Boorstin died December 1 at age 95. Her book of poems is called Love is Not... Because

Prolific British author Colin Wilson died December 5th at the age of 81. He is best known for his first work, The Outsider, and for The Occult. His works ranged from fiction to philosophy to consciousness and the occult.

Jean-Claude Beton, who gave the citrus soft drink Orangina its small bulbous bottle and expanded sales throughout the world, died December 2 at age 88. He co-authored L'aventure de l'orange

Comedy impresario Robert D. Wachs died December 2 at age 73. Along with four others he co-wrote Beverly Hills Cop II: A Novel

(Bolding used due to non-existent Touchstones.)

General Paul Aussaresses, infamous for revealing atrocities he committed during France's brutal suppression of Algerians in the 1950s-60s, died December 3 at age 95. His published account of state-sanctioned torture and murder is called The Battle of the Casbah

Legendary hockey players attorney-agent Art Kaminsky died December 3 at age 66. He co-authored One Goal: A Chronicle of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

Egypt's 'poet of the people' Ahmed Fouad Negm died December 3 at age 84. He wrote Images From Life and Prison

(Imagine Touchstones where you see bold text.)

Joseph N. Bell died December 5, 2013 at the age of 92. He wrote Seven Into Space. He was a famously liberal columnist in conservative Orange County for many years. He called Orange County "a kind of national political nuthouse".

Actor Peter O'Toole died December 14 at age 81. His multi-volume autobiography is called Loitering With Intent: The Child, Loitering With Intent: The Apprentice

Larry Lujack died December 18 at age 73. He wrote Superjock: The loud, frantic, nonstop world of a rock radio DJ

Ida Pollock, prolific romance author who wrote under nearly a dozen pseudonyms, died December 3 at the age of 105. Her novels include The Devil's Daughter, A Rose for Danger (both as Marguerite Bell), and One Coin in the Fountain (as Anita Charles). Her 124th and 125th novels will be published next year.

Barbara Branden died December 11 at the age of 84. She wrote The Passion of Ayn Rand.

Actor and director Tom Laughlin, best known for his Billy Jack movies, died December 12 at the age of 82. In his later years he developed an interest in psychology and was the author of Jungian Theory and Therapy.

Actress Joan Fontaine died December 15 at the age of 93. Her memoir was No Bed of Roses.

Ned Vizzini died Thursday, December 19, 2013. He took his own life by leaping from a roof. He was 32. He wrote for television and It's Kind of a Funny Thing, Be More Chill and House of Secrets.

Al Goldstein died at the age of 77 on December 19, 2013. He was the publisher of the magazine Screw and wrote I, Goldstein: My Screwed Life and The Classic Book of Dirty Jokes.

Jazz musician Yusef Lateef passed away December 23 at age 93. His autobiography is called The Gentle Giant

Mikhail Kalashnikov died December 23 at age 94. He wrote The Gun that Changed the World

John S. D. Eisenhower died December 21, 2013. He was 91. Son of Dwight D. Eisenhower, he was a general and a military historian. He wrote The Bitter Woods and So Far From God among others.

Janet Dailey, a popular romance writer, died December 14, 2013 in Branson, Missouri. She was 69. She wrote almost 100 books including Night of the Cotillion, For the Love of God, and For Bitter or Worse.

Paul Torday died December 18, 2013 at his home in Northumberland. He was 67. He began writing in his late 50's after a career in engineering and published Salmon Fishing in Yemen in 2007 and produced a number of other books.

Yusef Lateef died December 23, 2013 at his home in Shutesbury, Massachusetts. He was 93. He was a jazz musician, educator, writer, composer and painter. He wrote Spheres and Rain Shapes, which are collections of short stories, his autobiography, The Gentle Giant and other works. He made more than 100 recordings.

Andy Granatelli died December 29 at age 90. His autobiography is They Call Me Mister 500

Dr. Kenneth C. Edelin died December 30 at age 74. He wrote Broken Justice: A True Story of Race, Sex and Revenge in a Boston Courtroom

Mike O'Connor died December 29, 2013 at the age of 67. He wrote Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe.

George Jacobs died December 27, 2013. He was, for 15 years, valet to Frank Sinatra. He wrote a memoir of that time, Mr. S: My Life with Frank Sinatra.

Ian G. Barbour died December 24, 2013 at the age of 90. He wrote books on religion and science, including Issues in Science and Religion.

Kenneth C. Edelin, M.D. died December 30, 2013 at the age of 74. He wrote Broken Justice.

Philanthropist Edgar Bronfman died December 21 at the age of 84. He was the author of The Making of a Jew.

Cambridge academic Mike Sharman died December 20 at the age of 80. He was author of The London and South Western Railway and Broad Gauge of the Great Western Railway.

British Dr. Leslie Paine who improved healthcare for the mentally ill, died December 2 at the age of 92. He was the author of The Wit of Rugby and Hospitals and the Health care Revolution.

Statistician Dennis V. Lindley died December 15 at the age of 90. He was the author of Introduction to Probability and Statistics from a Bayesian Viewpoint and Understanding Uncertainty.