Obituaries of the months of August 2012

Neil Alden Armstrong (82): Us astronaut and the first man who commanded the Apollo 11 that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969 and walk on the moon, radioed back to Earth the historic news of “One giant leap for mankind” and spent nearly three hours walking on the moon with Edwin “Buzz Aldrin, died on August 25 in Cincinnati.

Gore Vidal (86): Born as Eugene Luther Vidal Jr. the contrarian US Writer, who filled his novels and essays with acerbic observations on politics, sex and American culture while carrying on feuds with big-name literary rivals, died on July 31 in Los Angeles. His literary legacy included a series of historical novels-“Burr”, “1876”, “Lincoin” and “The Golden Age” among them- as well as the campy transsexual comedy “Myra Breckinridge”. His third book, “The city and the Pillar”, created a sensation In 1948 because it was one of the first open portrayals of a homosexual main character.

Meles Zenawi (57): Ethiopia’s long time ruler (Premier) who held tight control over this East African country but was a major US counter-terrorism ally, died on August 20 in Brussels.

Tony Scott (68): British-born Hollywood film director who made his debut with The Hunger (1983) and directed 26 movies, shorts, and television shows including-Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Days of Thunder (1990), The Last Boy Scout (1991), Enemy of the State (1998), Spy Game, (2001), Unstoppable (2010), Emma’s war (in production) alongwith and Academy Award winning movie Top Gun (1986), committed suicide by jumping from a bridge in San Pedro, California on August 19.

Helen Gurley Brown (90): The saucy Cosmopolitan editor of US, who as the author of sex and the Single Girl shocked eatly-1960s American with the news that unmarried women not only had sex but also thoroughly enjoyed it and who as the Cosmopolitan editor delivered thousands of sex tips to single women and more than a few curious men, died on August 13 in New York.

Maeve Binchy (72): one of Ireland’s most beloved writers, who sold more than 40 million books worldwide and was revered for her novels-Light a Penny Candle, Tara Road and Circle of Friends, which was adapted for the screen in 1995, died in Dublin in July last.

Tony Martin (98): The romantic singer of USA who appeared in movie musicals from the 1930s to the 1950s and sustained a career into the 21st century, died on July 27 in Los Angeles. A peer of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, he had hits like “I Get ideas,” “To Each His Own”, “Begin the Beguine” and “There’s No Tomorrow”.

Al Freeman JR (78): The African-American actor, who perhaps best known for his portrayal of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad in Spike Lee’s 1992 film Malcolm X, and whose long career in film, television and theater included an enduring role playing police Captain Ed Hall on the TV soap opera One Life to Live from 1972 through 1987, died on August 9.

Scott Mckenzie (73): US singer, who sang San Francisco, the unofficial anthem of the counterculture movement of the 1960s, died in Los Angeles, on August 18.

Prabuddha Dasgupta (56): Renowned fashion photographer, who was a popular name in the national as well as international fashion fraternity and challenged several societal taboos with his photographs whose first major work Women, released in 1996, was a compilation on controversial nude photographs of urban Indian women and whose works have found a place in prestigious magazines across the world, died on August 12 in Mumbai.

Vempati Chinna Satyam (83): Renowned kuchipudi dance guru and the recipient of several awards including the Padma Bhushan (1956), who was credited with elevating kuchipudi from its crude rustic from to a highly refined performing art, deserving prime position among the eight Indian classical dances and is largely responsible for spreading this art from across the world by performing in about 60 countries and training over 10000 students including film stars Hema Malini, Rekha and Vyjanyanthimala died on July 29 in Chennai.

Avtar Kishan (A.K.) Hungal (97): Veteran Bollywood actor and character artist, popularly known as A.K. Hungal and best remembered for his role as Rahim Chacha in the iconic film Sholay, died on August 26 in Mumbai. He acted in about 225 films in different languages including Hindi and did 16 films with Rajesh Khanna.