obituaries

Richard Griffiths: 5 Priceless Scenes with the ‘Harry Potter’ Actor

Posted on 03/30/2013 by Patrick Kiger | Who's News | Comments

Bulletin Today | Entertainment | LegacyWhen the word “Falstaffian” is used to describe an actor, it’s usually intended as a euphemistic reference to his girth. But in Richard Griffiths’ case, he really captured the dissolute, larger-than-life outrageousness of Shakespeare’s signature rotund rascal in myriad stage and screen roles. The British character actor, who died on March 28 at age 65 in Coventry, England, after complications from heart surgery, actually did play Falstaff in Henry IV, Part I and Part II, for the Royal Shakespeare Company. …

John Karlin: The Scientist Who Pioneered Digital Dialing

Posted on 02/11/2013 by Patrick Kiger | Who's News | Comments

Bulletin Today | LegacyToday, the title of the sexy 1960 Elizabeth Taylor drama BUtterfield 8 probably puzzles a lot of younger movie buffs who come across it on Netflix. They don’t recognize it as an old-fashioned phone number, with the first two letters and a number denoting a local exchange on Manhattan’s posh Upper East Side. And for that, we have John E. Karlin to thank. Karlin, a Bell Labs industrial psychologist, who did the behavioral research that showed that telephone users were capable of …

Edith Lauterbach: She Fought for Equal Rights in the Sky

Posted on 02/7/2013 by Patrick Kiger | Who's News | Comments

Bulletin Today | LegacyWhen Edith Lauterbach started working as a flight attendant in 1944, women who held the job were referred to as “sky girls” or “coeds,” and they could be fired for marrying or gaining weight — or even for reaching the age of 32. As detailed in a 1985 Knight-Ridder News Service article, they had to put up with touch inspections to verify that they were wearing girdles, and their nail polish and lipstick had to be company-approved. They also had to …

‘Pepper’ Paire Davis: In a League of Her Own

Posted on 02/5/2013 by Patrick Kiger | Who's News | Comments

Bulletin Today | Entertainment | LegacyIf you’re a fan of sports movies, you’ve probably seen A League of Their Own, director Penny Marshall’s 1992 homage to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The latter was a circuit of women’s teams that Major League Baseball put together in 1943 to keep fans coming to ballparks at a time when male baseball players were being drafted into the nation’s armed forces.The film focuses largely on the travails of a fictional player, Dottie Hinson (portrayed by Geena Davis), …

Patty Andrews: 10 Facts About the Youngest Andrews Sister

Posted on 02/1/2013 by Patrick Kiger | Who's News | Comments

Bulletin Today | Entertainment | LegacyIf you’re a boomer, the phrase “girl group” probably brings to mind the Shangri-Las or the Supremes (though your children or grandchildren might think of Destiny’s Child or TLC). But decades before any of those acts ever recorded a single, your parents probably thrilled to the smooth, energetic harmonies of the Andrews Sisters: LaVerne, Patty, and Maxene (pictured from top to bottom in the photo on the right). The Andrews Sisters sold by various accounts 75 million to 100 million records in …

Ann Rabson: Oh, Her Bawdy, Middle-Aged Blues

Posted on 01/31/2013 by Patrick Kiger | Who's News | Comments

Bulletin Today | LegacyIf your listening tastes run to sedate, genteel and G-rated, you probably wouldn’t like the distinctive musical style of Ann Rabson. As the cofounder of a band called Saffire — The Uppity Blues Women, pianist and sometime guitarist, Rabson wrote and performed an updated version of the bawdy blues once performed by the likes of Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, but filtered through a modern feminist sensibility, with a healthy dose of self-deprecating midlife humor. Rabson, who died on Jan. 30 …